Chapter 450: Black Ship Killing

Chapter 450: Black Ship Killing

Chapter 450: Black Ship Killing
Heartbeat? No, Bodhisattva, you are a devil... Zhao Duan's mouth twitched.

In a trance, I felt like I had become Tang Monk who was trapped in the Kingdom of Women, with the Queen of Women standing in front of me, teasing me constantly, chanting in my ear: "Elder Tang, look at me..."

Zhao Duan's face was solemn. He stepped back a few steps, looked away, and said unhappily, "Buddha, please stop joking!"

"Haha... Mr. Zhao is so cute," Prajna Bodhisattva smiled brightly, like an aunt teasing her nephew, and joked:
"Don't worry, I have given up all thoughts and devoted myself to Buddhism. I just came to ask you to go out for dinner."

After saying this, the nun, who was used to wearing a light gauze monk's robe, turned around and walked out of the dock gracefully.

"Huh..." Zhao Duan wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, looking helpless.

The old woman came to the door on her own initiative, because Prajna Bodhisattva was preparing to go south to receive the "legacy" left by Master Maha Jing, so she decided to go with him.

The matter has been reported to the empress. Taking into consideration that with Eunuch Hai by his side and an additional Bodhisattva accompanying him, Zhao Duan's safety factor has greatly increased, the empress generously approved it.

As for the danger...

Because of the Buddhist debate, Prajna Bodhisattva’s position was different from that of Nagarjuna and Xuanyin, so he had to rely on the help of the court.

Zhao Duan vaguely knew that the imperial court also intended to form an alliance with this old nun in order to balance the power of the Shenlong Temple.

Therefore, apart from the fact that the old nun teased him from time to time along the way, rational judgment was indeed a great help.

In particular, the most important destination of Prajna Bodhisattva’s journey is also to build the path.

"Let's just eat, why are you being so ambiguous?"

Zhao Duan complained and stepped out of the cabin, with warm wind blowing towards him.

It is now almost late spring, the river breeze is moist and warm, the mountains on both sides of the canal are turning green, and on the deck, familiar figures are standing or sitting.

"grown ups!"

Several trusted officers of Lihua Hall were moving benches, tables and chairs onto the deck and greeted him.

Lang Shiba, holding a wine gourd, and Ji Yue, who suffers from severe social phobia, are still hiding in the corner of the deck.

"Young Guard!"

On the deck, in the martial arts hall, a group of imperial masters led by Tang Jinzhong and Song Jinxi saluted.

It is worth mentioning that in order to keep a low profile, no one on the ship wore official robes, but just dressed as guards.

Zhao Duan nodded and walked over to Hai Chunlin, who was standing at the side of the boat, looking ahead with his hands behind his back.

"What are you looking at, Grandpa?"

Eunuch Hai was dressed like a rich man, wearing a melon-shaped hat with a few strands of silver hair sticking out from under the veil. He looked at the boats passing by in the distance on the river and said:

"Go further and you will reach Jianning Prefecture."

Jianning Prefecture... the largest prefecture in Jiancheng Dao. Prince Jing's Palace is also located in the city. There are also several local wealthy families in the prefecture. It can be said to be the center of Jiancheng Dao.

Luoshan, where the empress performed the Fengshan ceremony, is also located in Jianning Prefecture, but is some distance away from the prefectural capital.

"Do you know which kind of ships are most numerous in this place?" asked Eunuch Hai.

Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Don't look down on me, sir. Although I have never been here, I have done my homework. If the Huai River Road has the most merchant ships, then the Jiancheng Road is the most famous for its canal transport ships."

"Yes, the canal transport," Eunuch Hai said with emotion:

"The climate in the south is mild, and two or even three crops can be grown in a year. In addition, the capital is in the north, so there is a way to transport grain from the south to the north. With the canal dug by the previous dynasty, the canal was initially widened only to the Huai River. At that time, the Huai River was the main transportation hub.

Later, it gradually extended southwards, and now the core of the grain transport has also reached Jianning Prefecture. Oh, if it weren’t for the large amount of grain produced in Jiancheng Road, how could the Prince Jing’s Mansion have the courage to challenge the court? "

Tsk, Lao Hai, you know a lot. In the feudal era, the key to military power lies in who has enough food to support the troops. Prince Jing is indeed well-funded in this area... Zhao Duan's eyes were deep:

“The previous emperor also knew the stakes here, so he set up a governor of grain transport in Jianning Prefecture to take charge of grain transport affairs. He could also intervene in local affairs. He was a powerful official of the second rank, with much more power than the governor.

This time, the appointment and dismissal of officials in the south was accelerated because of the repeated urging of the governor-general named Ning Zechen. "

Governor-General of the Grand Canal Ning Zechen... This name is also a legend in the officialdom of the State of Yu.

It is said that this person was born in a common family. He passed the provincial examination at the age of 20, but failed three times. In anger, he married into a wealthy family in Linfeng according to the marriage contract. At the wedding, this person wrote a couplet and posted it in the new house:

“Without a single acre of land, one is concerned about the world; with ten thousand books, one can have spiritual contact with the ancients.”

Later, Ning Zechen, a mere son-in-law, somehow became friends with the governor at that time. The two became friends through books and were very close regardless of age difference.

Later, with the recommendation of the governor, Ning Zechen got to know a large group of local ministers, and all the people he interacted with were bigwigs.

It was not until he was nearly forty years old that banditry broke out in the local area and there was an urgent shortage of manpower. Ning Zechen was invited by the prefect of Linfeng to enter the government office as a friend to help, and he became famous overnight.

Later he entered the government and went to the river to deal with bandits and handle local affairs. Because of his tough style, he was valued by the old emperor, who was confused but not foolish at that time, and was promoted to the governor of the grain transport system in order to curb the southern nobles.

After the Xuanmen coup, the empress ascended the throne and Ning Zechen was among the first local officials to submit letters of loyalty, and therefore, he was also an important official of the imperial party.

"He is probably most happy that you are here this time." Eunuch Hai said with a smile.

Zhao Duan wondered, "Happy? Hasn't he heard of my bad reputation?"

Eunuch Hai said:
"This governor is different from those corrupt scholars in the capital. He only cares about ability and skills, not character. Although you have a bad reputation, your contributions over the past year are real. You are here to help him this time. How could he hate you?"

Oh wow, he is a practical man... rare... Zhao Duan nodded, showing some interest.

He had a very favorable impression of those officials who did not participate in power struggles or party disputes, and who did not care who the emperor was, and who only focused on getting things done.

This time he entered the Jiancheng Dao.

Zhao Duan only does three things.

One is to prepare for the Fengshan ceremony, but this matter is not urgent and can be put aside for a while and completed before Zhenbao goes south and arrives at Jiancheng Road.

The second is to investigate the situation of local officials and how powerful Prince Jing's power is.

The third, and most important, is to assist the Governor of Grand Canal Transport to crack down on the local tyrants and make them quiet down. Then, new local officials who will take office will be less constrained and it will be easier for them to implement new policies.

This will also prevent a new official from being unable to implement an order and having to face the erosion of sugar-coated bullets.

However, this matter is still difficult to handle. Zhao Duan has no plan yet. He plans to quietly enter the city, meet with the governor, and understand the situation here before making a plan.

"My lord, it's time to eat."

At this moment, he heard his subordinates calling him from behind. At the same time, the aroma of fish soup wafted from the kitchen on the boat.

Zhao Duan and Eunuch Hai stopped talking and turned to walk into the cabin.

In the corner of the deck, Lang Shiba stood up, took a few steps, turned his head and looked at Ji Yue, who was squatting on the side of the ship, holding his hands into a "telescope" against his eye sockets, stretching his neck to look into the distance, and asked curiously:
"It's time to eat. What are you looking at?"

Jiyue did not move, still maintaining her strange posture, and said:

"Something is wrong ahead..."

……

……

Wow…

The sound of waves hit the cabin. It was noon and the boats on the river stopped one after another. The boatmen took a break to eat.

Feng Da came out of the ship's kitchen carrying a food box, and walked straight to the officers standing guard on the deck, saying,
"Stop standing, sit down and eat."

Several officers did not move. The leader, an old soldier about fifty years old, smiled and said:
"Don't break the rules. You guards should eat first, and then take turns with us to eat. Otherwise, everyone on this ship will be slacking off, and if there is no one to guard, if the thieves suddenly attack, people will die."

Feng Da put down the food box and said jokingly:

"I know that you, Old Xu, have fought in the Southwest Frontier Army and seen blood. Later, you came to our Canal Transport Office and served as a Canal Guard. You are very experienced. Otherwise, you would not be so old and lead a team of people to be selected by the Governor to escort his wife...

But where did the thieves come from on this river? The Governor is not here. Don't worry, it was my wife who asked me to bring you food, out of sympathy for your hard work along the way."

Hearing this, several soldiers who were on guard and had been worried for a long time smiled and moved towards the food box.

The old soldier named Xu scolded:
"Did you guys get moved? Have you forgotten the military discipline we usually talk about?"

Several young guards withdrew their hands in embarrassment.

Feng Da smiled bitterly and shook his head, admiring but also feeling that it was a bit of an exaggeration. Feng Da was a guard in the home of Ning Zechen, the governor of the Grand Canal.

But to be precise, they were the guards of the governor's wife's family. However, after Ning Zechen rose to prominence as a son-in-law, his wife left her family with her maids and guards and followed her husband to form a new "Ning Family".

Feng naturally became the chief guard of the Governor's Mansion.

During the Chinese New Year, the lady brought the young master and young lady back to her parents' home in Linfeng to visit relatives. They stayed there for a month or so and this time returned to Jianning Prefecture.

On the way, in addition to the guards at home, Ning Zechen also dispatched a team of elite sailors for protection.

The Grain Transport Office was extremely powerful, with more than 200 civil and military officials under it, and nearly 20,000 people in charge of warehousing, shipbuilding, and grain transport troops.

If it were not in accordance with the laws of the court, the governor could not mobilize troops at will, and there was an upper limit to the escort specifications. There would be more officials on the ship at this moment.

but……

Feng Da felt that this was more than enough. The ship was equipped with elite sailors with crossbows and armor, and there was even a small simple cannon on board.

Ordinary pirates would not dare to offend Mrs. Ning, and even if they were really blind, they would end up with no return.

"Well, anyway, Jianning Prefecture is just ahead. When we go back and see the governor, my lady will definitely recommend you for merit." Feng said with a big laugh.

The old soldier named Xu frowned, stared at the front, and whispered:

"Something's wrong, cheer up!"

Feng Da was stunned and looked forward, he saw a ship in the distance approaching them rapidly. It didn't look like a ship passing by at all, but gave people the impression that it was intending to crash straight into them!
"Raise the flag!" shouted the old soldier.

Immediately, a young official ran into the cabin, brought out a bright flag of the Grain Transport Office, and waved it vigorously.

This is to show the identity. Almost no one on the boats traveling on the canal will fail to recognize the big flag of "Cao Yun Yamen".

However, the ship in the distance did not slow down, nor did it respond to any "flag signals", and it continued to approach rapidly.

And at this distance, one can vaguely see a group of people standing on the deck of the other ship.

"Beware! It's a black ship!"

The old soldier shouted.

The so-called black ships originally referred specifically to private ships on the river that were not registered with the government, but later came to refer to suspicious pirate ships.

"Pirates? Where did these pirates come from? Are they crazy? They didn't even avoid the flag of Caotai?" Feng Da was shocked and angry. He turned around and called the guards who were eating in the cabin to come out.

In the blink of an eye, the deck was full of people, and the officers were holding crossbows that could only be used in the military, locking onto suspicious ships.

He shouted loudly: "Stop! If you dare to come closer, I will shoot you immediately!!"

In front.

On the rapidly approaching ship stood a group of masked Cao Gang killers. The leader had a veil covering his face, a red ribbon tied around his right arm, and a long black stick slung behind his back.

It turned out to be Zuo Rong, the top thug of Jianchengdao Cao Gang and He Xiaolou's confidant.

"Master Rong, it seems this is the right ship. It's carrying military crossbows." A killer said nearby.

Zuo Rong, who only showed the upper half of his face, had a cold look in his eyes and said:

"Reduce the speed of the ship and keep out of the crossbow's range."

……

“They slowed down.”

Feng Da noticed that the black ship ahead had slowed down, and his heart relaxed. He smiled and said:
"It seems that he saw the manpower on our side and got scared."

Another Ning family guard holding a knife also said with a smile:

"A bunch of pirates who came from nowhere, aren't they scared silly when they see the crossbows in the army? Do you really think you can have a naval battle with them by having two boats approaching each other?"

Seeing this, the officers also relaxed, thinking that the other party would retreat after seeing clearly.

However, as everyone was concentrating on staring at the black ship in front of them, they did not notice that the water behind the ship was slowly breaking open.

More than twenty "water ghosts" came out. These killers who were very good at water were only wearing shorts, with naked upper bodies and daggers in their mouths.

They climbed onto the boat silently, split into two groups, approached the guards standing at the back, and then suddenly attacked.

"puff!"

"puff!"

With a muffled groan, several corpses were left behind in the blink of an eye.

"Oh no! Someone is climbing up...Ah!"

"Back! Back!"

The guards and soldiers who came to their senses were shocked and started fighting with the killers in a panic. But how could a group of servants and guards defeat the well-trained water ghosts?
In the blink of an eye, several more died.

The soldiers were at this distance and were blocked by guards, so they couldn't use their crossbows at all. They had to hastily draw their swords, but were blocked by the terrain. For a moment, there was chaos, with only shouts of killing, and blood spurting out like fountains from time to time, splashing on the windows of the cabin.

"I'll go first, and you guys follow."

On the deck of the black ship.

Zuo Rong said calmly, and then the Cao Gang's number one killer bowed his knees, suddenly jumped out of the boat, stepped on the water with his feet, and it was as if he was walking on flat ground. With extraordinary lightness skills, he flew to the front of the boat like a big bird in a few breaths.

While in mid-air, he pulled out a long black stick with his backhand, and with a "woo" sound, he smashed the head of the old soldier named Xu who had drawn his sword and was rushing towards him with a "bang"!
Like a smashed watermelon!
The old soldier's headless body shook, then fell off the boat with a splash, hitting the water and splashing waves.

"Old Xu?!!!"

Feng Da's pupils suddenly narrowed and he shouted at the top of his lungs. A surge of rage rose in him, making him forget his fear for a moment. He raised his knife and slashed at Zuo Rong who had jumped onto the deck.

However, Feng Da only felt a flash before his eyes, and the other party disappeared, and then he felt someone pulling his hair.

Before he could even turn his head, he saw in a daze that his lower body had rushed out of the deck and fallen into the river right under his nose.

He was stunned for a moment before realizing that his waist had been severed by the opponent's stick. Only his upper body was left, and he was suspended in the air by the martial artist killer holding his hair.

The severe pain came belatedly and Feng Da let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Zuo Rong casually threw him on the deck and swept across with the long black stick in his hand. The remaining surviving soldiers and guards had no power to resist and were all killed in a few breaths.

Some people were so scared that they jumped off the boat to survive, but were also slashed in the throat with daggers by the "water ghosts" hiding underwater.

Below the boat, the river water turned red.

The entire ship was in deathly silence. Zuo Rong, holding a long stick, stepped over the blood and corpses with his boots and arrived in front of the cabin. He raised his hand and pushed open the cabin door.

"Creak" sound.

The cabin was empty, with only a half-eaten meal on the small table.

"Madam Ning, please come out. Don't hide. It's such a big ship. Do you think you can hide?"

Zuo Rong said with a smile.

No one answered.

He was not in a hurry. He just walked around the small cabin with a long black stick in his hand, neither fast nor slow. When he reached a certain place, he suddenly poked the ground with the long stick without any warning!
"puff!"

The long stick sank into the floor, and a low cry came from below.

"Found you."

Zuo Rong grinned, squatted down, and used his hands to remove the piece of floor that served as a secret door, revealing a small space underneath. Inside, a well-maintained lady was curled up, holding a young girl in her arms.

"mother……"

The girl trembled, and Madam Ning held her daughter tightly in her arms. She raised her head with an unusually calm expression and stared at him:
"I'll go with you."

(End of this chapter)