Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 163 Operation Thin Horse ([-])

It was almost five o'clock in the morning when Zhao Xin and the others left Wang's house.

The reason why it was a bit late was that apart from the delay caused by the resistance of the guards during the attack, another main reason was that Zhao Xin ran into Wang Jinglong's study and swept away all the collections, furnishings and furniture.

When the three walked out of the gate of Wang's courtyard, Zhao Xin was the last to come out. He closed them casually, and then stuffed two small wooden wedges into the gap between the door frame and the door panel to keep the small door closed.

At this time, the barking of dogs from every household was already one after another.A few ordinary families who were awakened by the shock gathered together on the cracks of their doors to check the movement in the alley.Among them, the male owner of a family closest to Wang's house was surprised to find that three masked men with only eyes exposed came out from the small door of Wang's house.The reason why he could see that Zhao Xin and the others were masked was because of the two lanterns hanging in front of Wang's house.

After walking a dozen or so steps, the three of them rushed towards the way they came, leaving behind a series of footsteps in the long alley.The peeping man looked at the courtyard gate of Wang's house again. After watching for a long time, nothing happened, so he lost interest.Then he turned around and yelled at the dog in his yard, went back to the house and fell asleep again.

Zhao Xin and the others still dived out of the city from Shuiguan, hiding all the way to the gate of Tianning Temple.

In the twilight of the early morning, a small van suddenly appeared at the gate of the ancient temple out of thin air.Liu Sheng and Wu Siyu quickly opened the back door to get into the car, and Zhao Xin closed the door tightly. In less than a minute, there was a dull knocking sound in the compartment of the truck. Zhao Xin took the truck back, and then he himself disappeared out of thin air.

At this time, on the Yangtze River more than 200 miles away, a ship that should not have appeared in this era is rapidly breaking through the waves.

The sound of whining motors came from far to near, and the six-foot-long white pointed-headed fast boat sailed quickly across the river, with a white wave nearly two feet wide behind it.The sailors on the sand boats who had been traveling overnight along the way were all stunned by this ghostly speed.When they wanted to take a closer look, the boat had already sailed several feet away.

The waterway distance from Yangzhou to Wusongkou is nearly 150 miles; converted into nautical miles, it is about 25 nautical miles.The speed of the business boat is kept at about 70 knots. According to this calculation, it takes six hours to reach Wusongkou; and then sails for more than [-] nautical miles to reach Huaniao Island.

Since the time to return to Flower and Bird Island was advanced, Deng Fei's Thunder God should still be on its way to the south at this time, and Wang Yuanfang and the others had to wait for a few days on Flower and Bird Island.In order to meet Wang Yuanfang and others, Lao Huang had already returned to Shanghai County two days ago.He will take a boat to deliver food supplies to Huaniao Island in advance, and prepare to build a temporary dock and warehouse.

Yes, Zhao Xin is preparing for the large-scale refugee transfer next year.Huaniao Island was the first radio relay station he selected; from here, he should be able to contact the secret radio stations in northern Jiangsu and even Shandong in the future.

Shen Jingdan stayed in Yangzhou City, he didn't go anywhere, even his wife and daughter stayed at home.Originally, Lao Huang also suggested that Zhao Xin take Mrs. Shen and Ayu away together, but at that time Zhao Xin replied that he could not move for the time being, even if he wanted to leave Yangzhou, he had to wait for the wind to pass before leaving.

At that time, Shen Jingdan agreed with Zhao Xin after thinking about it for a while.

Therefore, before the start of "Operation Thin Horse", Zhao Dongjia and his party, who had a business relationship with Shen Jingdan, had already "leaved" Yangzhou and went north two days ago.Under Guisheng's tireless and repeated explanations, several prostitutes and prostitutes in the city can testify that Mr. Zhao and his party left with the purchased goods two days ago.Now that everyone has left, everything that happened after Yangzhou City has nothing to do with Zhao Xin and his party on the surface.

Don't think that the momentum caused by Zhao Xin and others looking around for skinny horses seems to be great; as mentioned before, "skinny horse trading" is an industry.What can be called an industry has its business scale quantified.Compared with the number of transactions in Yangzhou City every day, the behavior of Zhao Xin and others to choose "skinny horses" can't even cause a small splash.

As for the "thief" who robbed the "thin horse", the night soldiers on the walls of Yangzhou City, the fishermen on the Shahe River and the Yangtze River can all testify that a fast boat went down the canal overnight to Wusongkou.As for the robbed Chen family and Li family, unfortunately, there was not a single one left alive.Moreover, the unlucky Su Song Navy will soon make the most powerful proof.

At this time, Liu Siting was busy back and forth between the two ends of the cabin, one was to check the drug reaction of the "skinny horses" after they woke up; the other was to take care of the dozen or so rescued girls.Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong stood guard outside the cabin door at the stern to prevent accidents.

Xu Dayong has never been on such a fast boat.The trees on the bank and the few sails on the river receded quickly in his field of vision.From the excitement at the beginning to the dizziness and nausea in his stomach, he didn't dare to look around anymore.

The 32 girls headed by Tang Xiao were placed in the front cabin under the driver's cab; more than a dozen rescued girls were placed in the rest area at the back, where there were two wooden beds with bunk beds. Bunk bunk, quietly drinking water, eating food.

After eating and drinking, some girls yawned and fell asleep on the bed, and Liu Siting took out blankets to cover the children.After working for a long time, she was also very tired; but seeing these poor children sleeping on four beds, she felt that no matter how hard it was, it was worth it.

Tang Xiao, whose hands and feet were still bound, and a dozen other "skinny horses" who had woken up, watched Liu Siting take care of those children back and forth, and felt that this beautiful woman in front of him didn't look like a bad person.Especially when they saw Liu Siting picking up a three or four-year-old girl and gently patting the child to sleep, the feeling was even stronger.

Tang Xiaopi opened his mouth and said to Liu Siting: "Sister, can you let me go? Let me help you take care of them. Don't worry, I won't run away."

Several other girls also started begging.Their hands and feet were bound all the time, which made them really uncomfortable.

Liu Siting is also at a disadvantage.At this time, among the more than 30 "skinny horses" in the front cabin, there are still more than a dozen people who are still asleep, and she needs to be checked and even rescued immediately.

Thinking of this, she put the girl in her arms back on the bed, turned around and walked up to Tang Xiao, took out a pocket knife from her trouser pocket, and cut off the plastic tie tied on the other's hands and feet; are all let go.

Liu Siting glanced at Tang Xiao's little feet, and reminded the girls: "It's not convenient for you to walk, and the speed of the boat is fast now, so be careful."

Tang Xiaohong, who was rubbing her wrists and ankles, nodded with a blushing face, stood up delicately while supporting the coffee table beside her, and staggered towards the upper and lower bunks.The wooden floor in the cabin was a bit slippery, and Tang Xiao's deformed little feet walked on it, and he almost fell down several times.After finally reaching the pillars of the wooden bed, she felt safe.

The hatch is so high that you need to climb two steps to go up.Tang Xiao stood on tiptoe and stretched her neck to look out, but she couldn't see anything except the white sky.Tang Xiao sighed helplessly, supported the bedposts, and sat down on a vacant seat on the lower bunk.

The girls slept heavily, and the panic at night and the process of boarding the boat cost them a lot of energy.After eating at this moment, there was a blush on the little face.

Looking at these children, Tang Xiao thought of himself.

She was a little over three years old when she was trafficked from Suzhou to Yangzhou.The impression of his biological parents has long been blurred, and he only has a vague idea of ​​what his hometown looks like.In my impression, the only picture I have of that home is the pond in front of the door and a group of white ducks. When I was a child, I sat at the door of the house and watched my mother busy in the yard.

Tang Xiao patted the girl next to him with his hands, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Liu Siting checked and found that the breathing of several girls became very weak and their heartbeat slowed down.She hastily started artificial respiration. After doing dozens of times, Liu Siting felt that the cabin was a little stuffy, so she rushed to the cabin door, pushed the door open, and shouted to Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong outside the door: The door is open!" Then, she ran back to the girl and continued artificial respiration.

Lu Shoushan and Xu Da stretched out their hands to support the two hatches, and the cool wind from the river flowed into the cabin through the hatches; the "skinny horses" in thin clothes were shocked by the cold wind.

At this moment, more than a dozen girls were blushing, watching Liu Siting shyly perform artificial respiration with mouth to mouth.They didn't know what the woman in front of them was doing, but when they saw Liu Siting's anxious expression, they gradually understood that she was not belittling the sleeping woman.

With the influx of fresh air into the cabin, most of the unconscious girls woke up slowly, and the girl rescued by Liu Siting also slowly opened her eyes.

Director Liu let out a long breath, and sat down on the ground tiredly, his face was covered with sweat.

Whether they know each other or not, the "thin horses" are helping each other.The girls who woke up fell on the ground and retched, while others helped bring water, and at the same time gently patted each other's back with their hands for relief.

"Ah~~!" There was a scream near the cabin door, it was Tang Xiao.Liu Siting looked up and saw Xu Dayong walking into the cabin with a big bag and a smile.

"Get out! Who told you to come in!" Liu Siting took a deep breath and asked loudly.

"This is, it's the king. Master Wang asked me to bring you water and food." Xu Da Yong's neck was red with embarrassment, and he stammered and explained.

"Open the door! Get out. Close the door!" Liu Siting didn't talk nonsense with him at all.

Xu Da turned around resentfully and went out the door, his wish to see the little beauty was in vain.But when I entered the cabin just now, the girl sitting on the bed was so beautiful!Those little feet made Xu Dayong feel hot all over.In fact, that Dr. Liu is also a great beauty, but it's just that those natural feet let Xu Da use them for a while, and he has no idea.

Outside the cabin door, Lu Shoushan, who came in a hurry after hearing the sound, stared at Xu Dayong with a sneer, and leaned closer and said: "Take care of your thief eyes, if you dare to look around, be careful, I will dig them out for you!"

"Yes! Yes! I don't dare anymore." Xu Dayong was really afraid of Lu Shoushan. "Brother Lu, what do you think the masters are doing by arresting so many young ladies? Aren't they all going to be concubines?"

"Cut~! Let me tell you the truth, most of these girls can read and write, and many of them are going to be sent to schools in Beihai Town as teachers."

"What?! Be a gentleman! Not a concubine?"

"That's right!" Lu Shoushan nodded, and he remembered what Zhao Xin once said to him. "We in Beihai have no slaves!"

Just as he was about to teach Xu Dayong a lesson, Ding Guofeng walked out of the cockpit holding a Negev, and said to Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong on the lower deck: "We found a Qing army ship ahead, prepare to fight!"

In the 17th year of Qianlong, the Qing government abolished the admiral of Anhui, and the admiral of Jiangnan water and land governed the affairs of Anhui, eleven prefectures and one state along the river in Jiangsu.The internal and external business affairs to the east of Wusongkou are also under its jurisdiction.

Due to the high speed of the official boat, the naval patrol boat stationed in Jinshan had no time to react. They watched the white fast boat disappear on the river in the early morning, and the Qing soldiers patrolling the river thought they were dazzled.

However, when Wang Yuanfang entered the jurisdiction of Jiangyin and Jingjiang in his official boat, the river patrol boats of the Qing soldiers finally spotted them ahead of time because it was already broad daylight.

"Quick! Follow up and stop that fast boat!" A Jiangyin water battalion general sat on the patrol boat and ordered the sailors below.

A sailor standing at the bow looked at the white fast boat in the distance, and said worriedly: "My lord, that boat is bigger than ours."

The boss scolded disdainfully: "Fart! I'm an officer and soldier, so if you tell him to stop, you have to stop! Swipe across!"

A dozen sailors had no choice but to paddle desperately.After a while, the two patrol boats stopped on the route of the white clipper.The sailors at the bow vigorously waved a khaki pennant trimmed with flames, signaling for the clipper to stop.

"Fire the trumpet! Bow and arrow ready!"

"Boom!" The white gunpowder smoke scattered from the river patrol boat, and the speed at which the boat always found the opponent seemed to slow down.

Wang Yuanfang in the cockpit looked at the two broken ships not far away, showing a contemptuous smile.He was about to pick up speed suddenly as he approached.

Ding Guofeng climbed on the deck and shouted to the hatch below: "Liu Siting, open all the curtains! Let the girls stand in front of the windows!"

"Lu Shoushan, you two come in and help!" Liu Siting was so tired that she reluctantly stood up and opened a curtain.

Soon, as the curtains were raised one after another, sunlight shone into the cabin through the eight spacious glass windows.

"Ah! This, is this crystal?!" A group of girls in the rear cabin looked at the large glass windows on both sides with surprised expressions.Large pieces of flat glass these days are so expensive that ordinary people can't afford them, and it's rare to see them.

"This is glass." Lu Shoushan replied sullenly.

The girls all opened their mouths in surprise. They supported each other, walked to the window and reached out to touch it.

"Is this glass?"

The morning sun shines on the faces of the girls through the glass window, and the crowd of Yingying and Yanyan are chattering away. Xu Dayong stares blankly at the beauties competing for beauty in front of him, feeling that he is in a different place. Like the world.

"My lord! That, that, that."

"Say it! What's the matter?"

"Look, my lord, that boat is full of women, it's so beautiful!" The sailor at the bow stared blankly at the passing white fast boat. Behind the large glass windows, a group of young girls were pointing outside. point.Seeing the peerless scenery flashing in front of him in a daze, the saliva dripped down the corner of his mouth onto the official uniform.

"Stop! Stop the boat! Tell you to stop the boat, do you hear me!" The boss suddenly reacted, and shouted at the white clipper angrily.

Ding Guofeng, who was holding a light machine gun at the stern, sneered, and pulled the trigger at the position below the waterline of the patrol boat.

As the machine guns started firing, the official boat suddenly began to accelerate.Amidst the roar of the motor, all the Qing soldiers saw that the white fast boat bypassed their own interception with incredible agility and rushed downstream.

"Da da da!!!" The sound of machine gun shooting echoed on the river, and water splashed over the ship's side.However, the officers and soldiers on the two patrol boats were confused by the sudden gunshots, so the muskets of this year did not make such a sound when they were fired.

"My lord, our boat is leaking!" a sailor suddenly shouted.

"Damn! These people know evil magic and sorcery! Hurry up and block it, and go back and report to Master Guerrilla!"

In this way, the official boat swayed like this, with a look of fear that others would not know that there were a group of young girls on board, and rushed through the Jiangyin defense area, Songjiang defense area, and Chongming general defense area at high speed, and entered the Chongming Inner Ocean.

The sand boats and river patrol officers and soldiers along the way all watched with their own eyes the faces of young girls behind the large crystal glass on the boat.

In order to let these officers and soldiers see clearly, Wang Yuanfang deliberately slowed down every time he rushed over the interception, so that the navy officers and soldiers could see the girl on board; at the same time, if the Qing soldiers dared to approach the interception, Ding Guofeng would shoot him with a machine gun Bullets serve.

Some patrol boats were hit by bullets and sawdust flying around, and the screams of the wounded were endless.

Under the deterrence of machine guns, these navy officers and soldiers were so frightened that they ran away with their heads in their hands. They lay in the cabin for a long time without showing their heads, and watched helplessly as the white fast boat rushed through Wusongkou and headed for the sea off Chongming.

In the afternoon, the flying reports from each battalion were sent to the Admiral's Mansion of Jiangnan Water and Land in Songjiang with the Clippers. The Admiral Lan Meiyuan who received the report was shocked when he heard the news.He sent someone to prepare a report, and prepared to fly to Sa Zai, governor of Liangjiang, and Min Eyuan, governor of Jiangsu.Simultaneously run several commands:
Order the battalions under the commander-in-chief of Chongming Town to strictly guard all parts of Chongming, closely monitor whether the white fast boat lands in Chongming, and if found, they will be arrested together.

He ordered Susong Town's middle, left, right, and odd battalions to send additional ships to closely inspect the interior and oceans near the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Order Wusong Camp and Chuansha Camp to send additional ships to patrol the Jiangbei Ocean and the islands.

He ordered Langyouying and Jugangying in Langshan town to send more ships to strictly investigate the ocean and islands north of Sheshan.

In this way, from the early morning of the next day, the Qing army navy divisions of the various battalions under the command of the Jiangnan admiral were dispatched one after another.A large net laid by the Qing army slowly spread across the vast ocean stretching from Wusongkou in the west, Ma'an Islands in the east, Chengshan in the east of Rugao in the north, and the foot of Dayang Mountain in the south.

At this time, Wang Yuanfang and others still knew nothing about it.After passing through the mouth of the Yangtze River, the official boat drove all the way to the southeast, and finally arrived at Huaniao Island in the afternoon.

In the bay, Lao Huang and Shen Jingdan's Thousand Stone Nanjing ship are waiting for their arrival.

(End of this chapter)