Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 272 Bandits Are Not Necessarily Bandits

"Hurry up, hurry up. What are you dawdling about?"

Many boat bosses were yelling below.

The Jinling Wharf resumed its busyness and excitement. The coolies were carrying the goods, the foremen were bargaining with the merchants, and the boatman was calling for people to check the ships.

Moreover, the caravans coming from Jinling City come in waves one after another, because of the boundary of Jinling, all the goods are transported from the docks to the Central Plains and the North. Of course, the docks in Suzhou and Yangzhou are also extremely busy.

It is mainly to transport grain to the north, and transport precious brocade cloth, tea and porcelain to the capital, which is extremely important.

It won't be long,
In the first batch, many merchant ships and passenger ships going north all weighed anchor one after another, and then went north along the canal.

One ship after another, like a long dragon, has become a beautiful scene.

On the wide channel of the canal, there is also a busy battle of hundreds of ships. Many merchant ships go northward along the canal. Many ship bosses are also greeting each other on board, and the men are assigned to the ship. In four directions, keep an eye on the river at any time, whether there are water bandits intercepting.

in the evening,

On the river successively, the ships going south and going north met here. First, the observation sentries on the upper boats of the navy fleet found the ships in front.

immediately shouted;
"A large number of merchant ships were spotted in front of the fleet."

Zhang Jinyu and Duan Hong, who were still resting in the cabin, ran out immediately when they heard it, stood at the bow of the boat and looked south along the river, only to see that there were indeed many large and small boats coming towards them from the south.

"Old Duan, it seems that everything is going well ahead, and you said why these merchant ships are here now?"

"Master Hou, it's really strange. If you don't come sooner or later, you will meet me."

Duan Hong was also puzzled, driving all the way, for such a long time, he didn't see a single ship, but now suddenly a large number of ships appeared, quite abrupt.

Standing at the bow of the boat, Zhang Jinyu suddenly wondered if someone did it on purpose, so she asked;
"Old Duan, let's do the math. According to the previous speed, when will we be able to reach Jinling?"

Duan Hong had a happy expression on his face. The question was simple, so he replied;
"Master Hou, the general really knows about this matter. According to the brothers of the guards, they arrived at such a fast speed in the first half of the night."

At this moment, the leading building boat suddenly sent a semaphore, and then passed it to the rear one after another, and the speed of the navy began to slow down from the back to the front.

After a while, the speed of the entire naval fleet dropped significantly.

"Report, Lord Marquis, the leading ship in front is here to report, let the navy fleet move forward at half speed, there are a large number of merchant ships and passenger ships ahead."

"Understood, continue to be vigilant."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

After the sentry went back, Zhang Jinyu naturally figured it out, and the people behind the scenes made a move, and asked again;

"Then tell me, when will you arrive?"

Duan Hong was also taken aback, and understood why there were so many merchant ships. The speed was so slow, and he might not be able to make it all the way to Jinling, so he responded with an ugly face;
"Master Hou, according to this speed, it will be late at night at the earliest, or early in the morning. It's really cunning, and the people behind the scenes don't know what else they can do."

On the contrary, Zhang Jinyu was not in a hurry, smiled, looked at the harmless ship ahead, and only said one sentence,

"The Marquis feels at ease instead, which shows that the other party is at the end of his rope and has nothing to do, haha."

Duan Hong thought for a while, and it was true, he bowed and said;

"Master Hou is wise."

And the lookout guys on those merchant ships all showed incredible expressions when they saw the huge navy fleet in front, especially those main building ships, which hardly sailed on the canal.

Dawu has been around for so many years, and there may not be a few ships coming out. I didn't expect to see it here today. It was a shock, until a guy realized it and shouted;

"Boss, boss, front, front."

"You idiot, you can't even say a word, what's all the fuss in front of you."

The boss of the boat heard an impatient voice from the cabin behind him, thinking that something happened, he walked out of the cabin and took a look outside, seeing the navy fleet not far away, he was stunned and couldn't say a word.

"Boss, the navy fleet."

The guy finally spoke up.

"Idiot, I saw it and wanted you to tell me."

moment,

The navy fleet intersected with the merchant ships and passenger ships heading north. The smallest building ships were two stories above the deck, and all the building ships received by Zhang Jinyu were three-story building ships.

Standing on the top and looking down at the relatively large passenger ship, it is like a contrast between a grown man and a young child.

The men and passengers of the passenger ship and merchant ship all came to the deck to stop and watch. Seeing that the clothes these people were wearing were decent and generous, Zhang Jinyu couldn't help feeling that there was indeed a huge gap between the north and the south.

"Old Duan, as expected, being famous is not as good as being seen. Look at those people's clothes, which are much better than those in the north, and their complexions are also ruddy. And have you noticed that they are not too afraid of people in the court?"

Hearing what Lord Hou said, Duan Hong went to the edge and looked down, and it was true. Although the clothes of men and women are not rich and powerful, they are much better than those of the landlords in the north.

"Really, Lord Hou, this is not surprising. As the saying goes, if you are familiar with Jiangnan, the world is full. The place in Jiangnan is really rich, and other places are just shouting. As for why people who are not afraid of the court, I will guess at the end. Jiangnan Unlike the north, there are many scholars, and unlike the north, a scholar from eight villages in ten miles may not be seen."

"That would be troublesome."

Hearing Duan Hong's analysis, Zhang Jinyu said secretly.

It is also a bit of a headache. It is because of this that Jiangnan embarrasses the people in the court. Some things cannot be brought to the table, otherwise the mouth of the world will not be blocked, especially the so-called backbone of those literati.

The next step is for those literati to play, but there is no other way, watching Duan Hong in front of him is still looking down.

As the saying goes, when a scholar encounters a soldier, he can't explain why he is justified, and his blood is splashed for five steps in the wrath of a man.

side,

On the passenger ship that just passed, the passengers on it gathered together to discuss.

"Hey, my God, there are so many buildings and boats, just look at the back."

"Really, there are still so many fighting ships, where are they going?"

Everyone was very excited to see the rows of ships behind.

"Hey, that's not right, look at the sides of those big boats, there are bloodstains and arrows!"

This sudden shout drew everyone's attention. I didn't look carefully at a distance just now, but now that I'm getting closer, I can see bloodstains on the side of the building boat, and many arrows nailed to it. Part of the stump hangs on it, which is horrible.

Seeing this, the old women and children on the boat screamed and ran back with pale faces, and the others also looked ugly.

A young man standing at the bow was a little surprised and asked the people around him;

"This seems to have gone through a big battle, and it seems that there are quite a few people."

"Yes, my son, the naval fleet in front has about tens of thousands of people. To make such a powerful naval army fight like this, it must be an opponent of the same level, otherwise it will be like hitting a stone with an egg."

A hoarse voice came from behind, explaining with a little surprise and doubt.

This remark aroused the young master's interest even more. No wonder the Jinling Pier was blocked by the guards a few days ago. It turned out that it was for this matter.

The leading guard behind Shizi looked at the people on board, his eyes fixed, that armor!quietly reminded;

"Your Majesty, I can see from the humble position that the people on board are not from the guards, but from the Marquis Luo Yun of the outer border army."

“How come you see?”

"Your Majesty, look at their armor. There is no such armor in the pass, even the subordinates of other palaces don't have it. The only ones left are Luo Yunhou outside the pass."

Hearing the reply from the guards behind him, the prince Zhou Yewen looked over silently. Sure enough, those armored soldiers were more sophisticated, a style that he had never seen before, and the soldiers were even more powerful. They looked elite at first glance, and no southerners could match them. yes, with a wry smile;
"Sure enough, it's just that outside the pass, it's not that the Jurchens are raging and suffering. What I saw today is a bit unbelievable. Luo Yunhou is so rich that he is much richer than his father."

Hearing the son's question, the people around him were also silent. I really don't know.

"My son, this old man really doesn't know. They say that the outside of the pass is in dire straits, the people are naked, and there are people from other races who are rampant. But what you see today is indeed what you hear and what you see is what you see. The rumors are not credible."

The son nodded, this is true, what the father said is correct, the soldiers on the nine sides are the elite of the great martial arts, and they can secure the world. Unfortunately, those nobles in the court are tightly controlled, and the others have never been able to get in. The royal family is also divided.

It is doomed to be unable to get support, and it can only be seen from a distance and cannot be approached. I also thought of my father's entrustment, Ye'er, now all the princes in Dawu are staring at the big position, even the other four kings with foreign surnames have other purposes I am ready to move, this time I am going to Beijing to see more, think more, although it is a bit vague, but I will not be sure until the last moment.

on the boat,

Zhang Jinyu saw that the navy had already passed the boats in this area, so he said;

"Send a message to General Lu, hoist the sails, and rush to Jinling at full speed. If it is night, hang all the lanterns on the boat and reach Jinling as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

After Duan Hong received the order, he personally led people on the bow of the ship to raise the semaphore. After receiving the semaphore, Commander Lu ordered the fleet to speed up and sail south along one side of the canal.

Zhang Jinyu also had a serious face when he saw the navy fleet speeding up. Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River is not far away, so I don't know what tricks those people have.

On the passenger ship in front, the head of the guard said beside him;

"My lord, the navy fleet has sped up and is heading south."

"Ok?"

Zhou Yewen turned his head and looked at the navy that was gradually moving away behind him. Sure enough, the navy accelerated and continued to drive south, as if he was in a hurry.

Zhou Yewen was puzzled and asked;

"Mr. Xu, that's not right. This fleet is obviously going south to the south of the Yangtze River, and I haven't heard that there are such powerful bandits along the way who can rob the navy."

The old man gave a dark smile and said in a low voice;

"My lord, you underestimate the people of the world. Who said that those who robbed the imperial navy must be bandits?"

"Uh, who else?"

Zhou Yewen didn't turn the corner for a while, and asked a little ignorantly.

"My lord, other people in the imperial court belong to soldiers who can also become bandits. Bandits are not necessarily bandits."

"What! You mean."

(End of this chapter)