Chapter 256: The River and the Sea Compete, Ping Shan Meets for the First Time

Chapter 256: The River and the Sea Compete, Ping Shan Meets for the First Time

Chapter 256: The River and the Sea Compete, Ping Shan Meets for the First Time

From the narrowing point on the east side of Yuhu Lake to the sea, there is a three-mile-long "Huzui".

In order to resist the attack from the navy at sea, seven iron chains were set up in the middle section of "Huzui" since the Southern Song Dynasty. They were sunk to the bottom of the river at ordinary times and turned on the winches on both sides during wartime to prevent enemy ships from invading inland along the Minjiang River.

"On May 8, the sea tide surged into the river, and the enemy ships took advantage of the situation and rushed in. The officials and the people rowed their boats to attack..."

The so-called Jianghai Dragon God Society originated from the activities of officials and people in Fuzhou Prefecture to fight against pirates. After peace was restored to the world, it gradually evolved into a folk custom that shows bravery and courage.

"Put out the lantern."

"Pass the message, Senior Brother Fang has ordered to destroy the lanterns!"

On the quiet water surface, three fireflies disappeared one after another. The moon on the eighth day of the first lunar month was not very round, and it soon became dark around.

Several Wupeng River boats were quietly parked in the lake bay. Twenty feet to the southeast was the entrance to the "Huzui".

At three quarters past the hour of You, the sea tide surged back and a rumbling sound was heard in the river, like thunder exploding in the clouds.

Jia Renda was sitting on the side of the boat, wiping his sword when he suddenly heard a cannon shot. He raised his head and looked to the west. Seven or eight miles away, there were only a few faint flames on the colorful boats cruising the river.

Those fast boats, which were able to split the waves of the river, were being driven by the children of powerful families and were coming towards this side.

Jia Renda said, "Brother Fang, it seems that the time has come."

Another man bent forward and came out of the cabin. He was about 27 or 28 years old. His name was Fang Renzhi. His martial arts skills were not outstanding, and his status among the Qingcheng Sect disciples was not as high as the "Four Beauties". However, he was quite resourceful and capable, and was trusted by Yu Canghai.

Jia Renda laughed contemptuously, "The Dragon Gods of the Rivers and Seas? How foolish! They found dozens of rookies, drove small boats, and fought for the red hydrangea hanging on the iron chain blocking the river. They don't know if they will get it, so what can they do?"

Fang Renzhi looked towards the lake to the west and said, "I heard that Lin Zhennan spent a lot of money to hire expert craftsmen to build the Eagle Strike Clipper, vowing to win the first prize of the Jianghai Dragon God Association. The first people to arrive should be from the Fuwei Escort Agency. You must be careful to intercept them."

Jia Renda was puzzled and asked, "Brother Fang, is it necessary to go to so much trouble? Why not just capture Lin Zhennan and his precious son?"

Fang Renzhi asked, "Brother Jia, have you ever seen a hunter from western Sichuan catch a tiger?"

Jia Renda asked doubtfully, "Catch the tiger?"

Fang Renzhi chuckled and spoke slowly.

"Hunters drive tigers into traps and don't attack immediately."

"First, wave torches in all directions, beat drums and sound gongs to weaken their will."

"Then throw poison arrows to create smoke and fire, so that they panic and lose their courage."

"They also used long bamboo sticks to provoke them, forcing them to resist and giving them little time to rest, thus exhausting their strength."

"The last step is to get close, use your swords and knives to cut the tiger's body into pieces."

"Master wants to hunt down the tiger of Fuwei Escort Agency. What we need to do now is to weaken its will."

"So we have to make Lin Zhennan run into obstacles everywhere and mess up his spirit. The first prize of the Jianghai Dragon God Association is very important to the Fujian people, so we must not let the Lin family get what they want tonight!"

Jia Renda thought about it and understood a little bit. He admired the other party's wisdom, knowledge and strategies, but there were still some things he didn't understand.

He asked, "I understand what Senior Brother Fang said, but... is the Lin family of Fuwei Escort Agency also considered a tiger?"

Is the Lin family a tiger?
Fang Renzhi considered himself wise, but it was difficult to answer.

If it wasn't a tiger.

Over the years, the master has been secretly teaching his disciples to practice the Lin family's Exorcism Sword Technique. What's going on?

Besides, all the strength of Qingcheng Sect was mobilized for this attack, including the Four Beauties of Qingcheng.

If it is a tiger.

During these days, I have been observing and testing secretly.

There is not a single decent expert in the Fuwei Escort Agency.

The chief escort Lin Zhennan's martial arts skills are slightly better, and his internal strength has only reached the middle stage of the Armor Breaking Realm, which is just about the same as the intelligence of the others. The rest of the escorts and porters are not worth mentioning.

As for the Exorcism Sword Technique that the master feared so much, it was not even third-rate in terms of the sophistication of the sword moves, and could not compare at all to the Songfeng Sword Technique that was famous in the martial arts world.

Fang Renzhi thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. He could only vaguely say, "Even a hawk will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. Let's think of Fuwei Escort Agency as a tiger. It looks weak now, maybe it just restrained its claws and fangs."

"Brother Fang, but..."

"A ship is coming!"

Jia Renda wanted to ask more questions but was interrupted by Fang Renzhi.

"It came so quickly. The signal cannon over there was fired only a short while ago..."

"Get ready!"

"After you overturn the boat, retreat immediately and don't reveal your whereabouts..."

The three boats on the Wu Peng River paddled as fast as flying and moved forward in unison.

These Bashu men who grew up by the Minjiang River are good at swimming and are especially skilled at boat handling.

Two disciples stood at the bow, holding a pole about five or six feet long, and charged forward to meet the enemy.

There was a crescent moon in the sky, its light very dim.

But by listening to the sound of water on the lake, you can identify the direction.

"Sir, the Huzui River is ahead. I am just an ordinary fishing boat and cannot withstand the tide in the river!"

The young boatman steered the boat with all his might. The lake water was shaking and flowing upstream to the east. He could vaguely feel the power of the river and the sea fighting each other. Pushed by this huge force, every time he rowed the boat, he exerted two or three times more effort than usual.

This is just the area near the Huzui River. If we were to go in and face the tremendous power of heaven and earth, I really don’t know what it would feel like.

Therefore, every year the Dragon Gods of the Rivers and Seas compete for the prize, and although it is said that everyone, including scholars, common people, businessmen and workers, can participate, in fact it is still a game for the wealthy.

Courage and bravery aside, you need a good boat!

Yue Lingshan held onto the side of the boat and said, "Come closer!"

The boatman whispered, "You want to catch the tide to bring good luck and get rid of bad luck. It's the same here."

"This is the same as—"

Yue Lingshan looked back and saw that he was indeed on the verge of exhaustion. She felt sorry for him, but she also knew that he was not lying.

Apart from the shuttle-shaped speedboats lowered by the river cruisers, which chased from behind after the signal cannon was fired, the other boats used by ordinary people to watch the tide had already stopped, and did not dare to approach the place where the river and the sea met.

"OK then……"

Before he could finish his words, three 'river beasts' suddenly swam out from the black fog ahead, revealing their sharp horns, and pounced towards him.

Yue Lingshan was surprised and asked, "Who are they?"

"Pirates? The Dragon God Society of the Rivers and Seas, there really are pirates coming..." The young boatman felt his hands and feet go numb when he thought of the stories he heard from his elders. Relying on the navy, no pirates dared to attack Neijiang in Fuzhou Prefecture for at least 20 to 30 years.

"suddenly!"

Yue Lingshan was just wondering when a long pole came straight at her and hit the boat with a bang. The other party had more oars than her and the boat was faster, coming downstream. The impact was so powerful that it caused the fishing boat to tilt to one side.

"when!"

The Green Water Sword was unsheathed and chopped directly at the long bamboo pole. However, the first strike failed to cut it and it bounced away instead.

This smooth-surfaced bamboo is soaked in oil and dried to resist bites by blister bugs, making it as hard as gold and stone.

For people living on the water, a pole is often passed down through three generations, and the pole remains even after the person is gone.

"The Jade Girl draws her eyebrows!"

"Oh!"

She gathered all her inner strength and used the Jade Maiden Sword Technique. The long sword of clear water fell diagonally, breaking through the outer wall of the bamboo and cutting through the bamboo pole.

The two people on the other boat's bow didn't have time to stop and stumbled, both falling into the river.

"Guests beware!"

The boatman standing at the stern shouted and jumped into the river. At this time, the other two boats surrounded them.

Two long poles, flanking from both sides, swept across, bringing with them strong winds that broke through the air.

"not good!"

Seeing this, Yue Lingshan was helpless and could only put away her sword, jump into the river, hold onto the bamboo that she had cut earlier, paddle with one hand, and struggle to escape backwards.

"Bang! Bang!"

There were two loud noises behind me, and wood chips flew everywhere.

The fishing boat was instantly crushed, like a broken chair, and slowly sank into the river.

"Brother Fang, I think we made a mistake. It's a woman, not from the Fuwei Escort Agency."

Jia Renda stood at the bow of the boat, holding a long pole in his hand, looking at the figure floating on the river.

Fuzhou Prefecture is on the coast, and there is an old custom that women are forbidden to board ships during ocean voyages. It is okay to go on a river cruise, but there will never be women on the ships sent by various families to participate in the Dragon God Conference on the Rivers and Seas.

After a while, Jia Renda said excitedly: "Brother Fang, another ship is coming... This time it is from the Fuwei Escort Agency."

Fang Renzhi's face was gloomy. Less than half a mile away, three or five fires had appeared on the river. On the first boat, there was a large brocade flag with the words "Fuwei" embroidered in gold, which was particularly eye-catching under the moonlight.

They had noticed the abnormality here and seemed to have intentionally slowed down the ship.

"Brother Fang, what else are we going to do?"

"The other party is already on guard. If we force it, the gains will outweigh the losses."

Jia Renda said indignantly: "Lin Zhennan is lucky!"

Fang Renzhi sneered and said a catchphrase in Sichuan dialect: "No hurry, play with him!"

There were five small shuttle-like boats, no more than two and a half meters long, with pointed bows.

It cut through the surface of the river like an arrow, splashing up a trail of white waves.

Each Eagle Strike Clipper has four rowers and one oarsman.

Lin Pingzhi stood at the bow, wearing a white robe and a golden headband. He had delicate eyebrows and eyes. He was indeed like a handsome young man in this world, a young man with a fair face and bright eyes. There was a touch of charm between his eyebrows and eyes compared to his mother, Mrs. Wang.

Escort Captain Shi pointed to the river and said, "Young Escort Captain, someone has fallen into the water!"

Lin Pingzhi looked towards the river, and saw a ragged boatman holding a piece of board and paddling hard on the water.

When the boatman saw these tide-chasing boats that were as fast as wild horses, he not only did not approach to ask for help, but instead quickly turned to the north and swam away, apparently trying to avoid them as much as possible.

Zheng Biaotou, who was on another Eagle Strike speedboat, saw that the leading ship had slowed down and shouted loudly.

"Young Master, he knows how to swim, he will be fine."

"The Jianghai Dragon God Association is important, don't delay, Mr. Ma's boat is right behind us."

Lin Pingzhi thought about it and felt that it made sense. Seeing that the boatman took the initiative to row away, he gave up the idea of ​​rescuing the man. He was about to give the order to continue to set off at full speed and rush through Hukou when he suddenly saw another person floating on the river.

“Help…Help…”

Yue Lingshan held a half-length pole and floated in the waves.

She had lived in the mountains since she was a child and did not know how to swim. She had been able to float for so long because her body was relatively light as a martial artist.

Fearing that the Qingcheng Sect's men might attack from behind, he did not dare to stop, so he tried to paddle hard like the boatman. However, he did not know the method, and his effort was twice as good as the boatman's, who was far from being as free as he was in the water.

At this point, he had already used up most of his strength, and after drinking more than a dozen mouthfuls of river water, his vision gradually became blurred.

"Little thief...you are here..."

She forced her eyes open and looked through the waves. She saw a person standing on the bow of the boat in the night.

Under the crescent moon, the man's figure and appearance were surprisingly similar to Zhang Yu.

"You came!"

Yue Lingshan felt relieved and realized she was rescued, but she was exhausted and her consciousness became increasingly blurred.

At this time, after being washed by the river water several times, the "oil-fried tofu"-like face skin had long since fallen off, revealing the original beautiful appearance.

"Save people, save people quickly!"

"Get the people on board."

Lin Pingzhi shouted and called for Chief Biao Shi to pull the unconscious girl in green onto the boat. He patted her back continuously, and she finally vomited several streams of river water and gradually woke up.

"you…"

The girl in green looked at the face. Although it was somewhat similar, it was not him after all. The light in her eyes gradually faded.

Lin Pingzhi asked with concern: "Miss, are you okay?"

"I...I'm fine, thank you for saving me, sir."

"It's nothing. I'm Lin Pingzhi, the young leader of the Fuwei Escort Agency. Helping the needy and lending a hand in times of trouble is what my father taught me."

Lin Pingzhi has a handsome appearance and a bit of youthful innocence, so these words don't seem out of place coming from his mouth.

The Eagle Strike ships of the Fuwei Escort Agency all stopped at this time.

"Young Escort Captain, don't delay any longer. Mr. Ma's boat is less than half a mile away."

Zheng Kang looked behind him and saw several ship lights gradually approaching.

Lin Pingzhi said excitedly: "How about we take this girl with us to compete for the tide?"

As soon as these words were spoken, several escort leaders spoke out in opposition, even Escort Leader Shi, who had the best relationship with Lin Pingzhi, dissuaded him.

Since ancient times, ships competing for the tide must never carry women, otherwise the two dragon gods of the river and the sea will be angry, and the ship will be smashed to pieces in an instant if it enters the "Huzui" river.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Pingzhi said, "Old Shi, you drive my boat and take this girl ashore."

Zheng Kang reminded: "Boss Shi, remember not to go back the same way!"

Escort Captain Shi laughed and said, "Don't worry, Escort Captain Zheng, Old Shi understands."

The dozens of powerful families chasing them had at least a hundred ships, and they were as fast as wild horses on the water. If they were sailing in the opposite direction, even if the other party wanted to avoid them, they might not be able to slow down in time, causing the two ships to collide.

Moreover, the Fuwei Escort Agency, relying on the Eagle Strike Clippers, rushed out first as soon as the signal cannon was sounded, seizing the initiative. Naturally, this aroused the jealousy of many people, and when they saw those who were left alone, they could not help but have the idea of ​​personal revenge.

Lin Pingzhi shouted, "Set off at full speed! Let the Ma family's boat follow behind and drink the foot washing water of the Fuwei Escort Agency."

One ship turned south and headed towards Fuzhou city.

The four Eagle Strike speedboats continued to gallop eastward, rushed through Hukou, and entered the river.

…………

The people from the Fuwei Escort Agency were only concerned with defending the boat of Mr. Ma's family behind them, but they did not notice that less than a hundred steps to the north, there was a sloop quietly parked on the river, with a man in a black robe and a bamboo hat standing on the bow.

Liu Zhong was looking at his back, astonished. Mr. Zhang had ordered the boat lights to be turned off long ago, and he had to rely on his naked eyes to guide the way throughout the journey. They avoided waves, large floating objects, and other ships without making any mistakes. It was more convenient than hanging ten boat lights.

"A family with a filial son will never cease to worship its ancestors."

"Fuwei Escort Agency, Lin Pingzhi, did a good thing."

Zhang Yu was relieved to see Yue Lingshan was rescued.

Liu Zhong stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Zhang, shall we continue to watch the tide at Hukou?"

Zhang Yu was not interested at all, and chuckled, "No, let's go back."

The Qingcheng Sect's troops were divided into two groups.

At this time, the good show on the Fuwei should have begun.

(End of this chapter)