Chapter 211
211 Inspecting the ship (1)
A continuous bloody light … ‘That official ship is full of villains … Xu Qi ‘an was shocked.
However, he did not make a rash judgment, because the canal was often filled with water bandits. These officials might have just defeated the bandits who tried to Rob them.
“What is that ship? why is it different from ours?” Xu Qi ‘an looked at the official ship that was getting closer and closer, and asked his colleague casually.
There were quite a few old Gong Masters present, and they were very experienced and knowledgeable. After recognizing the name, they replied, ” that’s a ship. From the flag, it seems to be from Yuzhou.
The floaters were large flat-bottomed boats that were mostly used to carry goods.
“Oh,” Xu Qi ‘an replied. His eyes flickered, and he continued to ask, “”Are there any water bandits around Yuzhou?”
Song tingfeng snickered and put his hand on Xu Qi ‘an’s shoulder, “”This place is less than half a day’s journey from Yuzhou’s mingguan. Have you ever seen anyone block the road and Rob at the entrance of the Yamen?”
“Then there’s no problem,” Xu Qi ‘an nodded, as if he had confirmed something.
“What do you mean by no problem?”
“There’s no problem in getting merit points.” He looked at song tingfeng and saw that the two boats were about to pass by each other. He quickly said, “”Tingfeng, go back to the cabin and find Jiang Jinluo immediately. Tell him that there’s an emergency.”
He then glanced at the seven or eight gongs on the deck and said in a deep voice, ” there’s something wrong with that ship. Follow me.
After he finished speaking, he turned to the ship on the side and shouted, “”Stop the boat!”
His voice rolled and reverberated on the river.
The officials on the ship ignored him and pretended not to hear him. There were even boatmen who quietly adjusted the angle of the sail, and the ship tilted away from the official ship where the watchman was.
At this time, the other gongs also felt that something was wrong. Before they could say anything, they saw Xu Qi ‘an holding on to the guardrails. The deck under his feet broke with a ” ka Cha ” sound, and his whole body shot out like a cannonball.
In an instant, he crossed a distance of tens of meters and landed steadily on the deck of the ship.
“Ka Cha …”
The sound of the deck breaking was endless, and seven or eight gongs jumped up one after another. Relying on their exaggerated jumping power and the surging Qi, they also jumped onto the float.
Seeing the group of gongs “invading” the ship, the expressions of several officers on the deck changed slightly, and they quietly pressed on the hilt of their swords at the back of their waists.
“My Lords …” A man with a full beard ran out of the cabin. He was wearing a Yamen uniform, a tall hat, and a pair of black boots.
He looked around at the gongs on the deck and cupped his fists. “What business do you have?”
Xu Qi ‘an didn’t say anything. He carefully observed their micro-expressions and subtle movements. Zhu guangxiao said in a deep voice, ”
“Which Yamen are you from?”
“This humble servant is a ship-guarding Constable of the water transportation Yamen. I am here to escort a batch of iron ore to the capital.” The bearded man replied. They were wearing official uniforms with the pattern of waves printed on them. It was the official uniform of the water transportation Yamen.
Yuzhou was rich in iron ore. Salt and iron were the lifeblood of the country. In layman’s terms, they were strategic resources and also a major financial source.
The gongs weren’t surprised and turned to look at Xu Qi ‘an. They didn’t understand why he had suddenly stopped the ship.
Xu Qi ‘an narrowed his eyes and noticed a detail. Until now, the ship was still sailing and had not anchored.
“Guang Xiao, stop the ship.” Xu Qi ‘an said in a deep voice.
Zhu guangxiao immediately went to the stern and kicked the huge and heavy anchor into the water, and the ship slowly came down.
When his silent colleague returned, Xu Qi ‘an asked, “”Why didn’t you stop the boat just now?”
“This …” The bearded man’s expression was difficult as he said in a low voice,”My Lords, please wait a moment.”
He returned to the cabin, folded a few silver notes, and vaguely handed them over. He smiled apologetically and said, ”
“I know that no matter where I am, as long as I see the night watchman and the Yamen’s officials, I have to show respect … I was insensible just now and tried to deceive you. I deserve to die ten thousand times. Please forgive me, my Lords.”
Xu Qi ‘an glanced at them. They were all silver notes worth fifty taels, and the total was about three hundred taels.
Does he think that we’re blocking the ship to receive bribes? The night watchmen reacted, feeling both angry and amused.
Although the night watchman wasn’t very clean, he wasn’t at the level of plucking feathers from a goose. However, the reputation of the night watchman was indeed very bad. This was thanks to the Civil officials who poured dirty water on him day after day, shaping the night watchman into Wei Yuan’s Eagle Claw, who did evil deeds of harming loyal and good people and corrupt and bend the law.
A scholar was best at using a pen to Pierce the heart.
“Ningyan …” Zhu guangxiao frowned and looked at Xu Qi ‘an.
Everyone, including him, did not believe that Xu Qi ‘an had intercepted the ship for the sake of money. This fellow who would cut a silver Gong for an unrelated woman was not likable, but his character was worthy of recognition.
The bearded man’s heart sank when he saw that no one had taken the silver notes for a long time. He didn’t think there was any problem with his response, but it seemed that the night watchmen didn’t buy it.
“Take me to the cabin to take a look,” Xu Qi ‘an took a few steps forward and stared at the bearded man.
At this moment, Xu Qi ‘an stood in front of all the gongs. He put his right hand behind his back and quickly made a gesture.
The gesture was subtle and subtle, but the gongs behind him quietly tensed up.
This was because this hand gesture was the professional sign language of the Yamen, which meant:Prepare to move.
“Take me to check it out.” Xu Qi ‘an requested.
“Alright, please.” The man with a full beard agreed.
…. Wasn’t he agreeing too quickly? Normally, one shouldn’t protest:The water transportation matter was not under the jurisdiction of the night watchman.
Well, it could also be him … Xu Qi ‘an thought about it and led his colleagues into the cabin. They followed the bearded man down the narrow stairs to the bottom cabin.
One by one, the bearded man lit the candles and led the night watchmen to check the cargo of ores.
A copper Gong grabbed a handful of fine iron ore and clicked his tongue, “”They are all high-quality iron ores that have been screened.”
The bearded man chuckled a few times in response.
The copper Gong dropped the iron ore without a word and nudged Xu Qi ‘an’s waist with his scabbard, signaling with his eyes.
“Continue with the inspection,” Xu Qi ‘an said.
He walked to the side with the gong and asked in a low voice, “”What’s wrong?”
“The ore is too fine, and the quality is too excellent,” copper Gong said in a low voice.
Xu Qi ‘an didn’t understand. it’s being shipped to the capital. What’s the problem? ”
Tong Gong looked at the crowd not far away, then retracted his gaze and said in a low voice, “”I investigated a corruption case in the Ministry of Works a few years ago, and it was related to the iron mine. Ores were calculated by weight, not quality.
“In order to gain benefits and fill their own pockets, officials will mix crushed stones or low-quality iron ore into the iron ore. There won’t be a problem as long as you control it to a certain extent.”
… In other words, the quality of the iron ores here was too good … Xu Qi ‘an nodded.
After checking, there was nothing unusual. Everyone returned to the cabin. Xu Qi ‘an made another request.”Let me see your documents.”
The bearded man obediently brought over the document signed by the Inland-water transportation Yamen. After confirming that there were no mistakes, Xu Qi ‘an said, “”Did you encounter any problems on the way?”
how could I? I just left Yuzhou. The bearded man said.
Heh, then explain the green light on your head … No, what did the bloody light mean?
Xu Qi ‘an observed the cabin as he walked. The bearded man accompanied him the whole time and answered all his questions with a surprisingly good attitude.
When they arrived at the kitchen, the four cooks sat on small wooden stools and looked at Xu Qi ‘an and the others silently.
There were many seasonal vegetables in the basket in the kitchen, which looked quite fresh.
Xu Qi ‘an laughed. now, when I see vegetable leaves, my eyes will light up. I’ve been eating fish on the boat for several days. It’s fishy and unpalatable.
“Am I right?” he asked, his eyes sweeping over the four cooks.
One of the cooks glanced at the bearded man. Their eyes met, and he understood tacitly. He revealed a humble smile.”Yes, the fish in the river will inevitably have the smell of soil. It’s normal for Your Excellency to not be used to it. People like us who live on the water all year round are already used to it. ”
“Oh, you don’t know how to get rid of the fishy smell.” Xu Qi ‘an nodded with a smile.
Eh? The four cooks sensed something strange from Xu Qi ‘an’s meaningful smile.
The bearded man was the same, and he probed, “”My Lord …”
Before he could finish his words, his chin was hit by this Gong from the bottom to the top. His gums knocked and a mouthful of broken teeth was broken.
Immediately after, the copper Gong punched him twice in the chest at an extremely fast speed. Bang Bang … His energy ran through his back and tore his uniform.
The full-bearded man was sent flying by the punch. He hit the wall and fell limply to the ground.
Xu Qi ‘an, who had suddenly attacked, no longer paid attention to him. He turned around and swept his leg, breaking the ribs of a cook. Then, with the strength and speed of A martial artist, he broke the ribs of the remaining three cooks.
The entire process took less than five seconds.
Even so, the fight in the kitchen still attracted the attention of both sides outside.
“Take down everyone on the ship, but leave them alive,” Xu Qi ‘an ordered.
The gongs, who had been warned by the hand signal, reacted quickly and struck without hesitation, knocking over the boatmen and officials.
For a night watchman who had an average cultivation level, subduing a group of civil servants who were quite skilled was not much more difficult than Xu Qi ‘an beating up Xu lingying.
At this moment, Xu Qi ‘an felt a strong Qi movement landing on the deck. In order to protect the bearded man from jumping into the water and escaping, he carried the two of them out of the cabin and came to the deck.
Jiang Luzhong frowned and looked at him in silence.
Xu Qi ‘an turned his head to look in the direction of his official ship and found that provincial governor Zhang had also been alarmed. He was standing on the deck and looking in their direction with a solemn expression.
This ship was also an official ship and belonged to the Yuzhou government. Xu Qi ‘an’s actions were no different from that of a water Bandit. If there wasn’t a valid reason, this matter wouldn’t be easy to handle.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Luzhong cast a questioning look at the beard in Xu Qi ‘an’s hand.
He immediately recognized that it was the uniform of the water transport Yamen.
“There’s something wrong with this ship, but I can’t tell you what it is exactly.” Xu Qi ‘an explained.
this is the ship of Yuzhou’s water transportation Yamen. Is it transporting the iron ore? ” Jiang Luzhong asked.
“Yes.”
yes. Jiang Luzhong nodded and asked in a deep voice, ” how did you discover that there was a problem with it? ”
…..
[ PS: I wish everyone a Happy Children’s Day in advance. ] With our passion for playing games, shouldn’t we celebrate the first of June? We’ve been single since we were born, shouldn’t we be spending the first of June?
[ PS: thank you, President of mustlin, for the tip. ]