The Jiangxunjian competitions to recruit soldiers had a wide impact. Ordinary people would chat about the competitions after dinner, envy the leaders who won the gold, and argue about who was the most powerful in the ring.
On December 25, the governor's office sent a special reward of twenty stones of corn and two fat pigs to the army. Yang Anxuan knew that this was Wang Gong's intention to ease the relationship, so he took Liu Zhong and Zhou You to the governor's office to express his gratitude.
Zou Ge patrolled the river every day, but the river thieves were afraid of the power of the river patrol supervisor. The merchant ships traveling on the river were much safer, and the reputation of the river patrol supervisor was established with the help of the ships.
On the 27th, merchants in Jingkou beat gongs and drums and delivered food, meat, poultry, and wine, as well as 20,000 yuan to reward the troops, to express their gratitude to the patrolling river supervisors for protecting the country and the people.
The Du Shui Supervisor and the Jiangjiang Supervisor shared the same gate, and gongs and drums were beating outside, so Ying Hao had no choice but to take him out together with Yang Anxuan.
Watching Yang Anxuan accept the gift, Ying Hao's smile was a little stiff. He had never been given anything by the common people in his many years as the capital's water supervisor.
In the past few days, he had vaguely heard the yamen clerks complaining that the Xunjiang Supervisor was well-paid. Originally, the Xunjiang Supervisor was born to his wife, but now he is much better than them.
Rumors reached his ears, and the underlying meaning was that he was complaining that his chief officer was incompetent and not as good as Yang Zeng, who had just taken office.
Ying Hao made up his mind that after the New Year, he would have someone open the door of his house again, so as not to have to go in and out with the Jiangsu Supervisor. Out of sight, out of mind.
Yang Anxuan knew what was going on and gave the Du Shui Supervisor two fat pigs and ten jars of wine. Ying Hao felt better. The Du Shui Supervisor was finally able to bring home the meat during the Chinese New Year.
Except for the hundred soldiers brought by Zhou You, the soldiers in the patrol camp were all locally recruited recruits. After discussing with Zhou You and Liu Zhong, Yang Anxuan decided to divide the recruits into three batches and take turns to go home for the New Year.
Unexpectedly, this proposal was resisted by the new recruits. The military salary of the Jiangsu Supervisor was paid in full without any deductions. Moreover, the food in the camp was good, with meat available every now and then, which was much better than what these soldiers ate at home.
These people had seen the competition to recruit soldiers a few days ago. Those who were recruited later were stronger than them. There were rumors in the camp that General Yang was going to eliminate a group of soldiers and replace them with later recruits.
Many people originally enlisted in the army out of desperation, but now they refuse to give up no matter what. They go to their corps commanders and chiefs and ask them to intensify their training during the Chinese New Year and not go home.
After hearing the feedback, Yang Anxuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but it also showed that the military spirit was available.
Liu Zhong was even more passionate, claiming that he could not betray the trust of the people and would patrol the river even during the Chinese New Year.
Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "Brother Liu wants to take advantage of the Chinese New Year to see if he can run into a blind thief and get some credit by the way."
Zhou You helped: "Liu Xiaowei is right. The Chinese New Year is the time when Jiang thieves appear the most. We can't just accept a thank-you gift from a merchant and then someone is robbed in the blink of an eye. That would be a slap in the face."
Yang Anxuan was reminded and nodded: "In that case, patrolling the river every day will continue as usual. The New Year is coming soon, and we can't treat our brothers badly. Every meal must be meaty."
Zhou You said with a smile: "General Yang treats me leniently. In the Zuo Guard Army, Weijiang is not as well fed as in the Jiangxun Camp. Weijiang is afraid that he will feed these people and make it difficult to serve him in the future."
"Only by sharing joys and sorrows can we be in the same boat." Yang Anxuan waved his hand vigorously and said: "The merchant also sent 20,000 yuan. I thought that during the Chinese New Year, everyone would be given 50 yuan to make everyone happy."
Zhou You was an old soldier and was used to obeying. Although he didn't agree with Yang Anxuan's proposal, since the general gave the order, he kept silent.
Unlike Zhou You, Liu Zhong came from a wealthy family. The annual bonus given to him by Shulan Court was more than 40 gold, so he would not take tens of thousands of dollars to his heart.
Liu Zhong was thinking about meritorious service and wanted to float on the river all day long. However, Zhushuiyan was killed, which frightened the river thieves. This month, Xu Jiang was safe, which made Liu Zhong very disappointed.
When things were uncertain, he asked An Xuan, and Liu Zhong said, "General Yang, the Jiang thieves have not appeared these days. Is there any way to induce them to appear?"
Yang Anxuan has also been thinking about this matter recently. The government situation will undergo major changes in the next year. Time waits for no one. He must make more contributions and be promoted as soon as possible to be able to respond when major changes come.
"Brother Liu, Brother Zhou," Yang Anxuan thought for a moment and said, "Can we send people to dress up as merchant ships to lure the river bandits?"
Liu Zhong's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "This is a great plan. There are many merchant ships docked at the dock, so we will use the merchant ships as bait to lure the river thieves to appear."
Yang Anxuan said: "Brother Liu, tomorrow you go to the dock to find a big ship. If you want to transport some valuables on board, say you want to transport them to Shangyu. Select elite soldiers at night and sneak into the ship secretly."
"Okay, let's simply replace the people on the boat with our brothers." Liu Zhong said.
Zhou You shook his head and said: "That's not right. I guess there are Jiang thieves' spies on the pier, and they will definitely pay attention to the big ship. If someone changes the person, the flaw may be exposed, so it is better to hide in the cabin. And it should be done before departure. If you sneak in at night, maybe the thieves will disguise themselves and sneak into the boat to check."
Liu Zhong praised: "Xiaowei Zhou is too thoughtful, but he is too careless."
Yang Anxuan said with a smile: "What I said a few days ago, the brothers should be divided into three groups to go home for the New Year. We must continue to implement it, and we must publicize it with great fanfare to let people know that the Jiangjiang Supervisor is on holiday for the New Year and there are insufficient troops."
Liu Zhong and Zhou You both woke up and realized that General Yang had already planned it. They praised in unison: "Wonderful!"
…………
Huang Fu has been at the dock in Yihe Town for two days, carrying cargo packages on and off the ship every day. As the main dock for entering and exiting Beijing, even though the new year is approaching, there are still many ships coming and going.
There are two large ships leaning on the pier. They are sand ships about five feet long, with flat bottoms and square heads. They have long masts and the sails are stowed. Based on Huang Xi's many years of experience on the water, they both carry five hundred goods. A large ship with more than enough material.
Carrying the bamboo basket and stepping on the swaying gangplank to board the cargo ship, someone on the ship shouted loudly to be careful not to get it wet. The bamboo basket was full of fine tea cakes. If it got wet, it would not be sold.
After carefully placing the bamboo basket on the ground, Huang Xi wiped his sweat and looked around the cabin. The cabin was filled with cargo, including wine, sauce jars, and lacquerware. I heard that another ship was loaded with furs and medicinal materials, all valuable items.
When I got out of the cabin, I heard the guards talking in Wu dialect. Huang Xi had worked as a boatman and traveled north and south with ships. He could understand the accent of Wu, and he could confirm that the cargo ship was indeed from Shangyu.
Huang Xi learned from the guards' chat that the cargo ship left Shangyu for Jiangling in November. After selling out the goods, he rushed home to celebrate the New Year. He did not buy all the goods in Jiangling and planned to replenish the cargo at Jingkou and return to Shangyu tomorrow.
There are less than twenty guards on the ship, and the two ships combined have no more than fifty guards. This business can be done.
After bumping into the second master Chen Yu and others who were also dressed as porters, Chen Yu found out that the soldiers of the patrol camp were divided into three shifts to go home for the New Year. The patrol boat turned into a boat. It seemed that the patrol camp Also relaxed.
Ask Huang Xi to go back and report to the boss, asking them to prepare to rob the ship. Chen Yu stayed with the two of them, and also paid attention to whether there were any traps, when the merchant ships set off, and when the river patrol patrol team patrolled the river, looking for the right opportunity.
At nine o'clock, the merchant ship raised its sail, left the dock, and sailed down the river. It seemed that it was in a hurry to go home for the New Year.
The sound of drills rang out in the river patrol camp, but there was no movement from the several official ships docked at the pier. According to the custom, the river patrol would not start until the river patrol started at the right time. There is a time difference of one and a half hours, which is enough to capture these two merchant ships.
Chen Yu and his men followed the merchant ship in a small boat. I wonder if the boss listened to his advice and placed the location of the hijacking near the river.
It takes more than two hours to get from Jingkou to Linjiang. Even if the patrol team patrols to Linjiang, it will take more than an hour. By then, everything will be solved.
When passing Yangzhong, the dark sandbank was revealed to everyone. The rabbit died and the fox was sad. Chen Yu turned his head and ordered: "If we pass the merchant ship, let's report the news first."
Lining the river, a merchant ship more than three feet long was sailing against the current. Yu Fei stood on the bow of the ship, looking far ahead. Three arrows were stuck on the board in front of him, and the arrow feathers were swaying in the wind.
Half a quarter of an hour ago, Chen Yu's boat met him and informed him that the merchant ship was approaching. Asking people to go and find out where the policemen who patrolled the river were heading, Yu Fei ordered his men to get ready.
In addition to this large ship, there are also three small boats about ten feet long, which have been modified to become long and narrow. There are sharp iron nails on the bows, which are used to pierce the merchant ships, and then climb and rob the merchant ships.
Chen Yu boarded the big ship, stood next to Yu Fei, pointed to the two ships inside and outside, and said: "The big masters are those two ships. The word 'Lu' is written on the sails. Huang Xi has inquired about the owner of the ship. It is a branch of the Lu family in Wu County."
The boat on the river was faster than a galloping horse, and in an instant the merchant ship was no more than a hundred steps away from Yu Fei.
Yu Fei stretched out his hand to take the arrow, put it on the bow, adjusted his breath slightly, and shot out an arrow. I saw the sails of the merchant ship floating down seventy steps away, and the ship was bucking in the river. There were screams on the ship, and the ships behind them turned their rudders in panic to avoid them.
Amid the cheers of his minions, Yu Fei took the second arrow without haste. The arrow was like lightning, and the sail of the other ship fell down in response.
The minions on the boat shouted in unison without any instructions, rocked the boat and rushed towards the merchant ship.
Without the sail, the speed of the ship suddenly slowed down, and it was difficult to adjust its position in the middle of the river. The passing ships all knew that they had encountered river thieves, and those far away turned around one after another. Those who had no time to turn around speeded up and rushed past. No one stopped. rescue.
The small boat slammed into the merchant ship, driving the spikes on the bow into the ship, like a wolf that had bitten its prey and would never let go.
The small boat was seven feet shorter than the merchant ship. Wan Mao was already prepared. He swung the rope in his hand and threw the iron hook towards the merchant ship.
The iron hook was pulled back hard and caught the side of the ship. Wan Mao bit the knife inserted in front of him into his mouth, climbed on the merchant ship with his hands and feet, like a spiritual ape.
Stepping onto the ship's deck, Wan Mao realized something was wrong. The guards on the merchant ship were very calm, so calm that it seemed strange.
Without thinking too much, five or six more iron hooks were thrown around, and the minions quickly climbed onto the merchant ship.
The sun was shining brightly on the river, and Yu Fei could clearly see the situation on the merchant ship from thirty steps away. After Wan Mao and others boarded the merchant ship, he seemed to have been cast a restraining spell, and he was stunned and motionless.
No, I was ambushed. Yu Fei reached out and pulled out the last arrow stuck on the ship's board, and calmly ordered: "Rush over and take the brothers back to the ship."
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