Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

Chapter 192 Choosing the Master

When Zhongping looked at the map before, he always thought that Zhushui was just a tributary of the Han River and would not be much wider.

But at this moment, standing on the bow of the ship and looking up into the distance, the river and the sky were the same color. Except for the fluttering flags, they were all a vast expanse of white. Only then could one realize the vastness of the river.

He remembered that Li Daoyuan had memorized the description of the rapidity of the river in "Three Gorges": "In the meantime, for a thousand and two hundred miles, even if you ride on the wind, you can't do it with speed." After experiencing it personally, he vaguely understood why. The land of Jingzhou has always been favored by military strategists.

Guanzhong, Hebei, Sichuan, Southeast.

If we can get one of these four places to store food, raise troops, and cultivate government, even if we can't dominate the world, why can't we become a powerful force?

It is a pity that Guanzhong is unreachable at present. The land of Yuan Shao in Hebei, Yizhou and Liu Zhang are guarding it according to natural dangers, Yangzhou is where Yuan Shu is located, and all four places are inaccessible.

Looking at it this way, Jingzhou is really a piece of fat. No wonder Liangzi will ask Uncle Liu Huang to use Jingzhou as his first base later...

Zhong Ping is a little worried. Liu Bei's current strength is too weak and too small. It can even be said to be almost non-existent.

The advantage is that running like this will not attract too much attention, and it is difficult for anyone to imagine that he would drop everything and run to assist Liu Bei at this time.

But the disadvantage is that with Liu Bei's power at this time, it is difficult to find a decent site to develop.

He followed Zhongping's gaze to look at the endlessly flowing river, and joked: "You have been away from Xudu for several months. Could it be that you miss your relatives and friends?"

He had speculations in his mind, and although he still had many doubts, his trust in Zhongping still made him determined to go to Xudu.

Tanehira almost wanted to jump off the boat.

The few boats on the river were not tied together with beautiful decorations as rumored. The hulls of the boats were as light as fish and moved on the water as if they were integrated with the waves of the river.

His words could be said to be an honest and frank attempt to persuade Zhong Ping to change his stance. Of course, he was also somewhat particular about what he said.

The people in those small boats knew that once they were forced into a narrow channel, they would not be able to escape past the blockade of the huge building ship.

Even if he was ostracized in Xudu, he was not welcome in places where he was sent as an envoy.

This kind of experience is truly unprecedented.

"Taishi Ling! Quickly follow me to the back of the female wall. A group of water bandits from Ganning have been surrounded on the water, and they are fighting like trapped beasts. Taishi has ordered me to come and watch the battle."

You big-browed guy, do you want to win over me or kill me?

Still Guan Zhong?

Guan Zhong took refuge with Young Master Xiaobai only after Young Master Jiu died. If Young Master Jiu was still alive, Guan Zhong would go and recognize Young Master Xiaobai as his master...

Zhong Ping showed a meaningful smile: "No, no. I know a person who is truly a hero in this world. It's a pity that he is hiding in the abyss and his reputation is unknown. He is waiting for talents to come to him, and Zinihe won't give it a try."

Guoyuan looked puzzled and turned around in his mind. He couldn't guess who Zhongping was talking about: "Where is this person?"

"Bo Heng, what happened?"

In the past, he was still a young man, but now, although he is a Taishi Ling, he seems to be living like an envoy, either on a mission or on his way.

Looking down from the building boat, it is almost difficult to see clearly the figures standing on the boats. The sterns on the sides of the building boats are lined up on the river, like an iron lock, forcing the scattered floating boats into the narrow channel. river course.

Just like a drop of water falling into hot oil, several small boats rushed towards the approaching sterns like crazy. At the same time, the boats behind these small boats lit the kerosene on the arrows one after another, and for a while, rockets were like rockets. Falling like rain.

Zhong Ping's heart moved, he looked at Guoyuan, pulled him aside, and asked in a low voice: "Does Zini think that Liu Jingsheng is worthy of being the master?"

A somewhat outrageous question appeared in his mind.

The official becomes smaller and smaller, and the people move further and further...

He never expected that rockets were so commonly used in water battles.

Tanehira was stunned.

Wei Zhong was a little confused at first, but later he may have thought of Zhong Ping's bumpy official career, and his experience of being in exile every day despite being a close minister of the emperor.

The two of them huddled in the corner and taught Pang Ji how to find something.

Zhong Ping silently expressed condolences to Gan Ning in his heart.

Wouldn’t that make him a twenty-five-year-old boy?

Zhong Ping immediately became vigilant and listed Wei Zhong as a first-level alert target. He looked calm and walked away: "Ping only heard that 'eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor', a bird chooses a tree, how can a tree choose a bird? "

Sending out stern boats against the water bandits can really be said to be like using cannons to kill mosquitoes. Unless Gan Ning also cheats, there is really no way to escape.

The Qianlong in Zhongping's words is Xudu... Could it be that person?

Guoyuan only saw Zhongping and Wei Zhong chatting for a few words at the bow of the boat. For some reason, they suddenly broke up unhappy. Zhongping seemed to be angry, so he stepped forward to ask.

Wei Zhong has not forgotten the responsibilities he has assumed since he came with Zhong Ping.

"What is Bo Heng thinking about?"

Guoyuan understood.

Although Guoyuan didn't know why Zhong Ping asked this question, he still shook his head honestly and sighed: "I came from Yangzhou, and I see that Yuan Jiujiu is not a master of the Ming Dynasty... Could it be that the world's heroes are all people who live up to their reputation?" ?”

Maybe we can indeed follow the old path of history and come to Jingzhou to join Liu Biao, but is it really safe in Jingzhou?

Wei Zhong looked at Zhong Ping's young and tender face, showing some vicissitudes of life, and felt a very rare conscience aching. He couldn't help but persuaded: "I recall Guan Zhong's old affairs, and I think that if Guan Zhong died as a prince, he would have been the hegemon of Duke Huan. ? Didn’t Bo Heng hear that ‘good birds choose trees to roost in, and wise ministers choose their masters to serve’?”

This was the first time that he expressed his dissatisfaction so emotionally. Wei Zhong stood there, motionless for a long time, not knowing what to think.

He deliberately mentioned Guan Zhong, but only said that if Guan Zhong was foolish and loyal to his old master, Qi would not be as strong as it would be in the future.

"No big deal."

Zhong Ping smiled bitterly: "Ping just suddenly felt that the world is flowing like river water, but it is just a big dream."

Zhongping smiled but said nothing, patted Guoyuan on the shoulder, and answered the question: "We have to pass through Yangzhou on our way back. I think Mr. Kangcheng still has some letters for Mr. Bozhe, and I will ask Zini to be a messenger."

Thongpei has never had such a relaxing war experience. For the first time, the whole process was from a spectator perspective, which made him feel somewhat novel.

The meaning of the words implies that Zhongping is Guan Zhong, and Cao Cao is Duke Huan of Qi. The hegemony of Duke Huan is used as a metaphor for the prosperity of the Han Dynasty.

From now on, will there still be cases of straw boats borrowing arrows?

These boats were all covered with cowhide, and Gan Ning and others fired rockets. Although they caused some trouble to the Jingzhou nobles, they did not disrupt their continued approach.

Moreover, the boats Gan Ning and others were driving were small boats. Although there was kerosene on them, it was not much after all.

The rocket only fired one round and then stopped, followed immediately by ordinary arrows.

The old god Cai Mao was there and didn't care about Gan Ning's meager resistance. Seeing that the ships that were originally scattered were gradually being forced to stay together, he ordered his generals to wave their flags.

On the huge building ship, crossbow arrows were fired instantly. Facing the erosion of the crossbow arrows, those small boats were like ants in the storm. After a while, the ship was destroyed and people died, and layers of blood spread on the water.

Only a few of the surrounded ships were left, and they were still holding on. Cai Hao was too lazy to bother and was about to catch them all. Liu Cong beside him remembered Pang Ji's advice and hurriedly stopped him.

"Uncle, wait a minute! Let's not mention that we still don't know the whereabouts of the grain and grass. If we kill Gan Ning at this time, won't this incident fall on Jingzhou? Furthermore, what he robbed was Yanzhou's grain. Since Yanzhou sent envoys Let me ask, this culprit should naturally be dealt with by Yanzhou, why should we do this to overstep our bounds?"

If others had tried to persuade him with these words, Cai Mao would have hesitated for a while, but now it was Liu Cong who spoke. Cai Mao immediately stopped thinking about killing Gan Ning to vent his anger, and said with a happy smile: "What the second master said is reasonable, I just thought it was wrong." ”

He told people not to shoot arrows anymore, but to capture Gan Ning alive and not to worry about others.

The soldiers on the stern quickly gave orders, and while continuing to surround the few remaining small boats, they took out the hooks and hooked the sides of the small boats.

Zhong Ping looked at the ship, and when the flag moved, the surrounding ships would follow the order. He couldn't help but secretly admire Cai Mao's ability in controlling the navy again.

The building boat and the stern cooperated perfectly, advancing and retreating in a controlled manner. It can be said that this group of Jinfan thieves were beaten without any backhand.

The one-sided situation was so tragic that Tanehei couldn't bear to look any further.

He was thinking whether it was because of the butterfly effect he brought that the young Gan Ning was ravaged in advance.

However... after a burst of crossbows fired from the building ship, it was still unclear whether Gan Ning could survive.

It would be a pity if Gan Ning died here before he matured.

When the water bandits saw that the rain of arrows had stopped, they looked at the stern and saw hooks and ropes being thrown at them. They knew that the other party wanted to capture them alive, so they took advantage of this opportunity to breathe while guarding the bow of the boat. As soon as the rope came, he cut it with his knife, stabbed the needle at every seam, and shot arrows at the approaching cockroach.

Most of these Jinfan thieves were young men who were good at shooting. They shot and killed many soldiers over and over again.

Among them, there was a young man with a bird feather on his head and a bell around his waist who was the most skilled in archery. His arrows never missed. Basically, a Jingzhou soldier fell down with just one shot.

"Could that person be Gan Ning?"

Pang Ji was watching the battle from Zhong Ping's side, so he naturally noticed that the young man was extraordinary.

The building boat is so tall that it may be difficult for ordinary people to see the costumes of the people in the boat below.

But Huzi, who was following Tunepei, had a pair of eagle eyes. He saw the young man's clothes clearly and described them all.

When Zhong Ping heard this, he knew in his heart that this person must be Gan Ning.

He turned around and asked Huzi: "Are you sure you can shoot him here?"

Huzi shook the bow he carried with him: "I'm only 50 or 60% sure."

"What if it's on top of that boat?"

Zhongping pointed to a stern boat not far from the building.

"Eighty percent sure."

Huzi was a little hesitant. He had never shot an arrow on a moving ship and did not dare to speak too fully.

Zhongping knew Huzi's character well, and when he heard him say that he was eighty percent sure, he smiled and then looked at Pang Ji.

Pang Ji understood and hurriedly left with Hu Zi. "The wind and waves are so strong now, and the thieves are wandering around the ship. Can he really be 80% sure?"

Guoyuan had never seen Huzi's archery skills, so he had doubts.

"Zini, just wait and see."

Zhongping has great confidence in Huzi.

On the boat, Gan Ning killed several more people.

He had been stuck on the water for several days.

Previously, he could manage to hide due to the wide river basin and many towns around him. However, later, the officials around him had his portraits in their hands and were searching for each other. He had no choice but to abandon his hiding place on land and had to flee on the river.

At this time, he also regretted that he should not have shown his courage and robbed Cao Cao's food and grass.

He thought of the scholars who lobbied him, and of the words that persuaded and encouraged the generals. How could he not realize that he had fallen into someone else's trap?

But at this time, I had to swallow this bitter pill and continue this death struggle.

"Chief, there are not many arrows in the ship."

Several teenagers were covered in blood, and to such an extent, there was a hint of despair in their eyes.

"How many more arrows are there? Give them all to me!"

Gan Ning clenched his long bow, appearing extremely calm amidst the panic of the young men.

"A man is born and will die when he dies. We are no match for bandits and can rob Cao Cao's food and grass, but we die under the encirclement and suppression of Jingzhou army. With this name in the world, what should we fear?"

The young men behind him followed Gan Ning because they admired his heroic spirit.

Now that I see him doing such a generous and sad thing, I feel a sense of heroism in my heart that is not afraid of death.

"Even if we are bandits, we should fight to the death on the river."

With that said, everyone raised their swords again and fought with the approaching Jingzhou navy.

Gan Ning shot two more people in succession, raised his bow and drew an arrow, and all his eyes fell on the nearby Jingzhou navy.

And a stern boat far away from him was moored quietly on the right wing of the building, without attracting any attention.

Huzi stood on the stern, his arrow pointed at Gan Ning's head.

But soon, he tilted his bow slightly.

"Who is Gan Ning on the boat? Surrender without killing!"

These Jingzhou naval forces were also a little distressed by the desperate rebels, but Cai Mao's order to capture them alive made them restrained.

After all, they couldn't find the so-called Gan Ning among a bunch of blood-covered teenagers of similar ages. They were afraid that they would accidentally kill Jiangjun You's people and be harshly criticized instead.

Gan Ning saw that his brothers were becoming more and more difficult to resist, and he deliberately attracted firepower for them: "Grandpa Gan Ning, I am here, just come and catch me!"

His voice really attracted the attention of many Jingzhou soldiers, and those soldiers came towards his direction one after another.

Gan Ning sneered and drew his bow.

"Whoosh-"

At the same time as his arrow, there was also the arrow that Hu Zi had aimed at for a long time.

Gan Ning felt a sudden sharp pain in his wrist. He looked closely and saw a black-tailed arrow stuck in his wrist. The arrow was deeply embedded in the muscle, and blood was already flowing from his wrist.

"Where is Xiaoxiao plotting against your grandfather and me?!"

He cursed angrily and had no time to care what happened to his hand. With his left hand, he drew out his sword from his waist and slashed at the Jingzhou soldiers who were surrounding him.

However, he was not accustomed to using his left hand. Even if he slashed one or two people in anger, he could not withstand the increasing number of Jingzhou naval forces around him.

After Huzi shot the arrow, he returned to Zhongping, completely ignoring Gan Ning's curses.

"This archery skill is really amazing."

Guoyuan was very surprised. He had also practiced archery and thought that although he was not very skilled, he could be called excellent.

After seeing Hu Zi's arrow today, he felt that he was really a frog in the well. His archery skills... might as well not be mentioned.

"It's really awesome."

Zhongping thought about the military commanders he had been dating so far, but he couldn't find one who was more skilled in archery than Huzi.

No, this is not correct either.

He thought of Lu Bu, the owner of the Red Rabbit Horse.

Although Huzi's archery skills are superb, he shouldn't be as good as Lu Bu, right?

Huang Zhong seems to be in Jingzhou as well. I wonder who is better than Hu Zi?

"Huzi, what do you think of Gan Ning's archery skills?"

Taneping was a little curious.

Huzi thought for a while, with a rather troubled look on his face: "I don't know how to compare... I should be slightly better than the general."

Zhong Pingxin's words are like asking in vain.

He has never seen Le Jin shoot an arrow!

It was obvious that Huzi could tell that Thongpei didn't quite understand what he meant.

He racked his brains and thought for a while and said: "If he is on this ship and I am on the ship he is on, he will only have a three-cent chance of hitting me."

Tanehira probably understands.

Gan Ning's archery skills were about half a tiger's.

Guoyuan thought about the scene he had just seen of Gan Ning shooting the navy soldiers, and he became more alert.

There are many talented people in the world. I should be more humble and self-responsible in the future and never be proud or complacent.

The building boat docked outside Shangyong City.

When Gan Ning was brought in front of Cai Mao by several soldiers, his whole body was almost tied into a rice dumpling, and even his mouth was stuffed with coarse cloth, for fear that he would bite his tongue and commit suicide.

As soon as Cai Mao saw this man, he felt angry in his heart. Although he knew that Gan Ning could not be killed, he still threatened him: "The thieves robbed food and dared to put the blame on me, Jingzhou?! Now that I have fallen into my hands, how can I make it easier for you?" , pull this person out and give him twenty lashes first!"

Gan Ning straightened his body and stared at Cai Hao. The soldiers rushed forward to pull him, but he seemed to have roots in his feet and did not move.

During the struggle, Gan Ning spit out the coarse cloth in his mouth and cursed angrily: "If you kill me today, or if you let me live, you will definitely die without a burial place in the future!"

Cai Mao had a vengeful nature and was able to spare Gan Ning's life only because of Liu Cong.

Liu Cong was not here at the moment, and he was so angry that he didn't have enough care. He kicked Gan Ning to the ground and was about to chop him down with his knife.

"Degui, wait!"

Pang Ji had discussed with Liu Cong in advance and already knew that Cai Mao would not kill Gan Ning, so he waited outside with peace of mind. However, he felt uneasy after not seeing Cai Mao bring him for a long time, so he came here to check.

Unexpectedly, when he encountered this scene, he was shocked and angry, and shouted loudly to stop.

"If I don't kill this thief, it will be difficult to relieve the hatred in my heart!"

Cai Mao's eyes turned red with anger and he couldn't help but speak.

"Brother-in-law, I'll tell you, don't let this thief stay here today!"

"The food that was robbed in Yanzhou came from the Cai family! You will also give the explanation that Sikong wants!"

Pang Ji was also angry.

He originally had no dealings with Cai Mao. If he hadn't been ordered by Liu Biao and the interests of Jingzhou were damaged in this matter, he would not have been willing to come over to wipe Cai Mao's butt and do these thankless things.

Cai Hao was speechless by these two sentences, and his momentum waned.

Seeing Cai Mao's defeat, Gan Ning felt extremely happy and wanted to taunt him again.

Pang Ji was paying attention to his expression and saw Gan Ning showing signs of opening his mouth.

He didn't say anything. He made a prompt decision and kneaded a ball of rags and stuffed it into Gan Ning's mouth to stop him from talking.

No matter what, Cai Mao was from Jingzhou, so it was not his turn to mock him.

"I took this person away, so Degui can take care of himself!"

Pang Ji really couldn't stand Cai Mao's short-sighted and disregard for the overall situation, and there was a certain coldness in his words.

Cai Mao was timid towards Pang Ji in front of Gan Ning, and at this time he was extremely dissatisfied.

The two of them snorted at each other, one went to look for Liu Cong, and the other took Gan Ning to find Zhong Ping.

(End of this chapter)