Chapter 224: Another garbage ship, with bad intentions

Chapter 224: Another garbage ship, with bad intentions

Chapter 224: Another garbage ship, with bad intentions

One day later, at noon, Lu Yunyi, who had just finished his lunch, was reading a military book in the cabin.

It was a book on naval warfare that he had brought with him, titled "A Hundred Battles and Strategy", written by Liu Ji, the Earl of Chengyi, a civil official who founded the country and was known for his integrity.
Next to him was the "Wujing Zongyao" from the Northern Song Dynasty.

At this moment, his brows were furrowed, with great confusion in his eyes.
Although it looked like a mystery, he still forced himself to read on.

The Ming Dynasty can be said to have started with naval warfare, and now most of the nobles in the court have some naval warfare skills.
If he wants to surpass his predecessors, he needs to work harder.

“Any battle with the enemy, whether it is fought on the shore or in a boat in the water, is called a naval battle.

If the battle is to be fought near water, you must move away from the water a little. This can both lure the enemy into crossing and show the enemy that you have no doubts.

If I must fight, I shall not go near the water to meet the enemy, for fear that they may not be able to cross.

If I do not want to fight, I will block the water and prevent the enemy from crossing.

If the enemy leads his troops across the river to fight, you can wait at the riverside until they are halfway across and then attack them, which will be beneficial. "

Lu Yunyi muttered to himself, thinking carefully about the true meaning.

It points out that naval warfare does not refer exclusively to battles conducted on the water surface.

Instead, it includes situations where the troops are arrayed against the enemy on the river bank, or where natural conditions such as water flow are used to assist in land combat.

When facing the enemy across the water, if you intend to engage in a decisive battle, you should set up your formation a little further away from the river to lure the enemy across.

When the enemy is halfway across the river, suddenly attack them. At this point, the enemy will be caught in a dilemma and will be easily defeated.

After thinking for a long time, Lu Yunyi's brows relaxed a little bit, and he muttered to himself:
"The Art of War by Sun Tzu mentioned in the chapter on fire attack that those who use water to assist in attack are stronger. Water warfare should be about making use of the environment. That's not right."

Lu Yunyi shook his head repeatedly, and then muttered:
"We can't stick to the old rules. Now the Ming's firearms and cannons can reach farther and farther.
Naval warfare should be a different kind of infantry warfare, except that cannons are placed on ships.
And the fleet array should be an infantry array, to offset the gaps in the artillery fire?"

The more Lu Yunyi thought about it, the more confused he became, and the bewilderment in his eyes grew.

But even in this situation, he hardly felt the passage of time.

At this moment, his cabin door was wide open, and the soldiers passing by discovered that General Lu had been sitting there with the book in his hand for nearly an hour.

All the generals and soldiers could not help but slow down their pace and lower their voices.

Liu Heiying would occasionally pop his head out, but would shrink back when he saw that he was still thinking.
It was not until there were screams from the deck that Lu Yunyi's eyes gradually became focused, and the stiffness caused by his body finally came over him.

He shook his neck to ease the stiffness.

Then he stood up, patted his waist, walked to the window and wanted to look into the distance, to see the distant scenery to relieve eyestrain.

As he stood up, Liu Heiying in a cabin heard the noise and rushed over, saying excitedly:

"Brother Yun'er, have you finished reading the book?"

"No"

As Lu Yunyi answered, he looked out. The scene outside the window made his eyes widen slightly.

The river is already crowded with ships of all kinds.

Looking around, I could see laborers and ordinary people working on both sides of the river, and the noise seemed to be coming over here.

"Are you in Hezhou?"

Hezhou is an important port in Taiping Prefecture and the last stop on the way to Yingtian.
In order to avoid charges, many merchants choose to deliver here and then transport the goods to Yingtian by land, or replenish enough goods here and go to Yingtian together.

Therefore, Hezhou is particularly lively.

Liu Heiying nodded repeatedly, looking expectant:

"Brother Yun'er, the fleet has to stay here and wait for the imperial court's supplies. Should we go down and take a look?"

Lu Yunyi was somewhat tempted. The weapons and backpacks that the court was supplying to the front army scouts would be delivered in Hezhou, and the fleet should stay for a day, so he nodded:
"Okay, let's go for a walk. The imperial court has ordered that soldiers cannot disembark.

Tell the quartermaster to do a count and see if the soldiers need anything else, so we can buy them all."

"Ah, you have to come back." Liu Heiying's face suddenly fell.

"You want to be a deserter?" Lu Yunyi's eyes widened, but he quickly reacted and looked Liu Heiying up and down:
"How is your friend taking Liuwei Dihuang Pills?"

Liu Heiying's face turned slightly red, his body was trembling, and he was hesitant:
"Brother Yun'er!! Don't you want to give it a try?"

"no!"

Liu Heiying's face fell and he became dejected.

Lu Yunyi took a step forward, patted his shoulder vigorously, and comforted him:

"Black Hawk, if the effect is so quick, why do we still join the army?
Why don't you go sell medicine? You and I are the richest people in the Ming Dynasty! Let's go, don't just stand there, go to the deck and take a look."

Not long after the hatch was closed, Lu Yunyi quickly turned back.
I picked up the homemade watering can and watered the dozen or so pots and jars on the bookshelf.

He stuck his head out to look at the newly emerged bean sprouts, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, then he put the spray bottle aside and walked out of the cabin with peace of mind.

Now it is daytime, the soldiers are not allowed to leave the warehouse, now the deck is full of generals,
There were officials headed by Xu Sima of the Five Military Commandery, a group of meritorious officials headed by Deng Zhen, and generals in the front army's scout unit.

Lu Yunyi came to the deck and greeted the adults one by one.

Then he took Liu Heiying to the edge and looked at the bustling scene of Hezhou Port.

The troop transport ships were very large, and more than 30 of them were parked side by side at the military port in Hezhou, which was particularly noticeable.

At the civilian port, there were many merchant ships docked.
There were also some porters carrying goods back and forth, but most of them had very shallow drafts.

And among those merchant ships, he saw the junk ship,

There were about ten ships with blue flags on them. Some of them were old, and they were still as deep as the ones I saw a few days ago.

They gathered together at this moment, surrounded by densely packed merchant ships, leaving no gaps.
If the troop transport ship was not large enough to look down from a high vantage point, he might not have been able to notice that there was a garbage ship hidden in the merchant ship.

This scene made Lu Yunyi frown. What was this doing?
Why is it wrapped so tightly? Could it be that the garbage ship cannot dock at civilian ports?

He looked back and found Liu Heiying not far away, stretching his neck with a greedy look on his face.

Lu Yunyi approached and followed his gaze, and saw a busy street at the port.
It was afternoon now, but the place was still bustling with people.

Unlike Yingtian, this street has two archways, one hung on the door and one on the roof.

Without a telescope, Lu Yunyi could see all the neighborhoods and courtyards mixed in the streets and alleys.

There is also a huge signboard located in the center of the street, occupying the best position, with the three words "Yuanmeng Pavilion" written on it.

In the Ming Dynasty, the names of first- and second-class high-end brothels were usually prefixed with words such as "Yuan", "Guan", "Ge", and "Lou".
Such as Yixiangyuan, Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Cangchun Pavilion, Hongxing Tower, etc.
These brothels are large in scale and high in quality, and the services they provide are more diverse and the money they pay is more expensive.

The third and fourth-class ordinary brothels were mostly named with words such as "Shi", "Ban", and "Dian".
It is small in scale, low in grade, and provides relatively simple services, but at an affordable price.

At this moment, seeing Liu Heiying like this, I knew that he wanted to spend money.

Lu Yunyi stepped forward and grabbed Liu Heying's ear!

"Hey~" Liu Heiying screamed and stood on tiptoe.

"Don't look at it yet. It's not that navy soldier from last time who came to me. I have something to ask him."

Liu Heiying ran back to the cabin, and soon the navy was brought out by him.

He still looks the same, thin and dark-skinned.

"General, you need me for something..."

Lu Yunyi smiled and said, "I am sorry to trouble you again. I do have something to ask you."

"No trouble, no trouble, General. You are too polite. Just tell me if you need anything."

Lu Yunyi stretched out his arm and pointed at the port in the distance and the numerous merchant ships:

"Last time I asked you about your junk ship, was it the kind that was surrounded in the center?"

The sailor was quite old. He narrowed his eyes, leaned forward and looked carefully.

Lu Yunyi glanced at Liu Heiying.
He immediately took out the telescope: "Take this and look at it."

"Hey hey.. okay."

The sailor took the telescope and looked through it. Everything in front of him became clear at once. He said quickly:

"Yes, General. That's the garbage boat."

"Does the imperial court have any control over the docking of garbage ships?"

The sailor thought for a long time and scratched his head:

"I haven't heard of it." Lu Yunyi frowned slightly and continued to ask:

"Then why are the merchant ships around them blocking them tightly? Isn't it said that the government turned a blind eye and didn't care much?"

"This..." The sailor suddenly felt embarrassed and stammered:
"Maybe. It could be a coincidence?
The garbage ships were loaded with waste materials from the factories and were very dirty. Merchant ships stayed away from them to avoid damaging the cargo inside.

This Hezhou has always been busy, and perhaps there are too many merchant ships docked here, so we can’t care so much.”

Apparently, this was an explanation the sailors came up with themselves.
But he couldn't convince Lu Yunyi, so he smiled and looked at Liu Heiying:
"Give him one or two ounces of silver as a reward. If you have any questions along the way, I will come back to you. But remember, keep it a secret!"

Liu Heiying didn't waste any words and just took out a string of banknotes from his pocket and handed it over.

The sailor's eyes widened in disbelief: "General, how dare I do this?"

"Take it if you're told to. Go down."

After Lu Yunyi finished speaking, he turned around and looked at the garbage ship.
This was the first time he had seen a product so ahead of its time, so he inevitably paid more attention to it.

But after learning more about it, Lu Yunyi did not feel the satisfaction of having gained more knowledge, but became more confused.

At this time, the troop transport ship, which had been moving slowly, trembled slightly and finally stopped.

Li Jinglong came over and said with a smile:
"Yun Yi, the ship will be docked here until the sun sets tomorrow. Why don't we go down and take a walk and find a good place to have some wine."

"You are not allowed to drink alcohol when you go to war." Lu Yunyi said lightly, but then he said:
"It's no problem to have a meal."

Li Jinglong immediately laughed, took a step forward and hugged his neck:

"Don't drink anymore. You still need to keep your brain to read military books. Brother Black Hawk and I will drink. We are generals and don't need to use our brains."

Liu Heiying's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.
Lu Yunyi couldn't do anything to him, so he looked at Liu Heiying:

"Go and see if the quartermaster has finished the statistics, and hand in the roster as soon as possible."

"Okay!" Liu Heiying ran back like the wind.

"What list?" Li Jinglong looked surprised and couldn't help asking.

Lu Yunyi smiled and said, "The brothers can't get off the boat, so I thought about buying them some things and some food, so that they don't have to travel all the way in boredom."

Hearing this, Li Jinglong took two steps back, looked Lu Yunyi up and down, and sighed:

"Yun Yi, I have been in the capital for many years, and I have never seen a general who treats soldiers like you. No wonder those soldiers follow you wholeheartedly."

"Haha, power comes from the bottom up. If the brothers don't support us, even if you and I have great abilities, we are just one person."

Lu Yunyi said casually.

But Li Jinglong was stunned, and immediately showed a look of realization:
"The superior is the representative of the people! This coincides with what Yun Yi said."

Lu Yunyi was somewhat surprised at Li Jinglong's erudition. If he remembered correctly, this statement came from "The Analects of Confucius".
The full sentence is: The superior is the model of the people. If the model is right, then everything will be right.

Li Jinglong felt a little scared when Lu Yunyi looked at him, so he laughed and patted his chest hard:
"I am also a good disciple praised by the great scholars in the capital!"

Lu Yunyi smiled but said nothing. Nowadays, most of the disciples of the Ming Dynasty's dignitaries have received a good education, including Li Jinglong, Guo Quan and others.
Even children from wealthy families like Liu Heiying were sent to school to study and learn knowledge at an early age.

The Ming Dynasty was newly established, and the four directions were stable.
The scene of people competing to study became more and more obvious, so it is no wonder that there was a dispute between civil and military officials.

At this time, Liu Heiying hurried back with the quartermaster and a booklet.

"Brother Yun'er, I have already copied it."

"Sir!" The quartermaster bowed slightly and saluted.

"Okay, no need to be polite, take the soldiers to do the shopping, don't be afraid to spend money,

The brothers are bored in the cabin and are waiting for you to buy something to relieve their boredom.

Oh, and buy some ginger. Ask for more remedies for seasickness. There are so many people coming and going here, and I don’t know any folk remedies.”

Lu Yunyi kept talking as he walked, and the quartermaster nodded repeatedly and quickly wrote it down.

"Sir, I understand!"

After slowly getting off the boat, Lu Yunyi stopped chattering and waved his hand:
"Okay, let's go."

"Yes!"

The sun was mild and the breeze was gentle in the naval port.

The thirty or so troop transport ships that had just docked were like giant dragons quietly anchored on the rippling water.

The soldiers were busy and orderly carrying out the finishing work, furling the sails and sorting the cargo and equipment.

At this time, many generals like Lu Yunyi disembarked from the huge military port.

They came in groups of three or five, with guards, and obviously had the same plan as them.

Lu Yunyi looked out and saw that the civilian port was bustling with activity.
All kinds of ships shuttled back and forth, with merchant ships and fishing boats coming in and out, busy and orderly.

On the dock, people were bustling about, and one could vaguely hear the hawking and shouting.

The sun shines all over the north bank of Hezhou. As October approaches, the air is no longer as hot as before, but a little cooler.
With his feet on the ground, Lu Yunyi suddenly felt much more at ease.
Just as he was thinking about going to the civilian port first, a series of calls came from behind him.

"Jiujiang, Jiujiang!"

Li Jinglong, who was standing on one side enjoying the breeze, shifted his gaze over there, frowning slightly.
Lu Yunyi and the others did the same. Not far away, about two or three ships apart,
A burly man was walking quickly towards them, waving and shouting, with more than ten people following him.

Lu Yunyi thought about it, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.
The person who came was Lin Shi'an, the commander of Puzikou City and Yangwei.

Beside him was Zhao Anfeng, the commander of the Jianghuai Guard, who was also part of the Northern Expedition Army. They had even drunk together in the Fengtian Hall. He was a general of the rear army.

Lu Yunyi looked at Li Jinglong, but found that his face looked a little bad. He had some doubts in his heart, so he asked directly:

"What happened?"

Li Jinglong curled his lips and looked at the visitor with a hint of impatience in his brows:

"My father's former subordinate."

Lu Yunyi and Liu Heiying looked at each other with even more confusion, not knowing what had happened.

Soon, those people hurried over. Before they got close, Lin Shian laughed loudly:
"Jiujiang, I haven't seen you for a few days. Why don't you come sit on our boat?"

Lin Shian is a tall man, about forty years old, with a beard and a face full of fat. He has the arrogance that is unique to soldiers.

Li Jinglong showed a warm smile on his face and began to speak:
"Uncle Lin, please forgive me for laughing. I don't know anything about transporting troops.
I want to learn a little more from Governor Xu. When I finish my studies, I will definitely go to the boat to have a chat."

“Hahaha, of course, of course!!”

This harmonious scene made everyone present feel a little weird.

Xu Zengshou, who was standing behind him as a personal guard, curled his lips and looked away, no longer looking at these hypocritical adults.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Lin Shian looked at Lu Yunyi, looking him up and down, then he showed a look of sudden realization, and then laughed exaggeratedly:
"Hahahaha, this must be General Lu, he is indeed a promising young man!"

It was only then that he suddenly remembered something and quickly cupped his hands:

"Your subordinate Lin Shian greets General Lu!"

Although he and Lu Yunyi are both of the third rank,

But Lu Yunyi was the prince's guest, and his status was much more respected, so it was nothing for him to bow like this.

Lu Yunyi didn't put on airs, he smiled and cupped his hands:

"Master Lin, I have heard of your great name for a long time."

Lin Shian also smiled and said loudly:

"We have heard of your great name for a long time. It is said that General Lu would buy meat for his soldiers even if he withheld the captured meat.

I didn’t believe it before, but after going on this expedition, I do believe it.”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

The smile on Lu Yunyi's face disappeared in an instant. Liu Heiying also tensed up, his eyes sharp, and put his hand on the long sword at his waist.

Then I heard Lin Shian continue to say:

"General Lu, I know you are kind to your soldiers, but what you did was really unkind.
You let the soldiers out for fresh air. What will our soldiers think?
These past two days, the soldiers have been clamoring to get some fresh air, which really makes it difficult for us."

Zhao Anfeng, who was standing next to him, changed his expression, tugged at Lin Shian's sleeves, and whispered:
"What nonsense are you talking about? Stop it now."

But Lin Shian sighed and said loudly:
"An Feng, what are you doing? The brothers have complaints, and we, as superiors, should solve the problems!
General Lu has always lived in seclusion, but now that we see him here, we naturally want to discuss things.
Don’t you think so, General Lu?

(End of this chapter)