The sailors immediately retracted the gangplank, then weighed anchor and set sail.
Captain Li Anshi asked them all to go into the cabin and stay out of the way on the deck.
He personally held the steering wheel and shouted into the microphone to open the starting valve and start the transmission system. Inside the engine room, the chief engineer immediately pulled down the handle. Driven by high-pressure steam, the steam engine drove the propeller and began to rotate.
The ship shook violently, and then followed the sound of the steam engine churning. Spewing white steam, it headed towards the center of the Hun River.
After the ship enters the center of the river, it can go down the river, drive directly south, turn into the Liaohe River in Panjin, and then enter the Bohai Bay.
As long as they are on board, they are safe.
Jiannu had no navy and no forts equipped with long-range artillery on the shore.
And this ship is a special operations ship. It looks like a hull made of thin wooden boards from the outside, but the inside is made of steel plates. Like a sandwich biscuit, two thin layers of wood sandwich a layer of steel.
The keel and ribs are made of steel. There is also a steel ramming horn under the water on the bow of the ship, which can ram and sink enemy ships.
With a low aspect ratio and shallow draft, it can enter inland waterways with a water depth of 1.5 meters. And the speed is very fast, it is simply invincible in the inland river.
The deck is equipped with a sliding steel roof like that of a shallow water heavy gunship. The steel panels are camouflaged with wooden boards inside and out. It looks like an ordinary merchant ship.
However, this ship has three millimeters of carburized steel armor. Completely immune to musket and bow fire.
This boat looks like a silkworm baby, with a round head and round tail, a short and fat boat, and a very wide internal space. The bottom warehouse is ten meters wide and twenty-five meters long.
At this time, inside the cabin, everyone at Shenyang Station was also awake. Some people even had badger oil on their heads. They didn’t know why they were burned and didn’t dare to ask. ..net
At this time, there were more than 60 people from Shenyang Station, 30 servants, and 40 to 50 people from Zhuzi and Hong'er in the cabin. It's already quite crowded. However, everyone relaxed. Once on the boat, you are completely safe.
The risk of this operation is still very high. Shenyang is the capital of Jiannu and the place with the largest number of troops.
There are cavalry camps everywhere here. This operation was like pulling a tooth out of a tiger's mouth. If you are not careful, you will be bitten by a large number of cavalry.
"Everyone must be hungry. The boat is simple. I steamed beef buns and egg and seaweed soup for everyone. Everyone should appease their stomachs first." The head chef came out and said.
One of his two cooking soldiers was carrying a large stack of steamers, and the other was carrying two tin buckets filled with soup.
The head chef carried two buckets of tableware and handed out stainless steel bowls and chopsticks to everyone.
Everyone was happy when they heard that there was still food. After a long night of hard work, everyone was tired and hungry. Suddenly, everyone started eating and drinking happily. This fist-sized steamed stuffed bun stuffed with beef and green onion is really good, you can take one bite and your mouth will be filled with oil.
Beef is not something that can be eaten by just anyone. Eating beef in Ming Dynasty will lead to lawsuits. However, here is the master's sympathy. Everyone was so happy.
Zhu Zhu and Hong'er lived in a single room at the stern of the ship. The chef specially gave them two extra rice and two stir-fried vegetables in addition to steamed buns and soup. In addition to the bottom cabin, this boat has several rooms at the bow and stern.
Because the ships of this era were all high at both ends and low in the middle. For the purpose of simulation, there are several independent rooms at the bow and stern of the ship, where senior officers and VIPs usually live.
This small room at the stern only has bunk beds on one side and a wooden bench that is usually hung on the wall and hung with a steel chain that can be lowered. There is also a small window, and under the window is a small table that can be stowed away.
There is no way, the space on the ship is small, this is already a very good treatment.
Hong'er asked Zhu Zhu to sit down and wiped his face and hands with a hot towel. Then he wiped it himself.
She first served rice and dishes to Zhu Zhu, and then poured a small cup of white wine for Zhu Zhu.
Zhuzi looked at Hong'er who had a red face and was serving him like his little wife. I suddenly felt in my heart that this small room had the warmth of home.
Zhuzi glanced out the window. Half of the sky in Hu's shack village was already burning red.
At this time, several big explosions occurred one after another. It seems that there was a gunpowder depot there for the Han army flag and it was set ablaze. A suicide bombing occurred.
Zhu Zhu smiled and said to Hong'er, "We have finished the work, but some people won't be able to sleep tonight."
Tonight, in the study room of Li Mansion.
Li Yongfang came to the study in a dusty state and asked Li Shun, "Madam, have you gone to bed?"
Li Shun, the chief follower, replied: "My lady is a little tired today. She drank some kumiss at dinner, and she feels a little sleepy. She has already gone to bed."
Of course he knew which lady the master was talking about. After all, there are too many things in this mansion that cannot be let to the princess and his wife.
Li Yongfang nodded and said to him: "Ask the eldest son to come over. I have something to ask him."
After meeting Hong'er and Zhuzi, Li Yangeng suddenly couldn't contact Fan Zhen. The other five also defected to their own insiders and lost contact.
Under normal circumstances, he would pay close attention to Hong'er and Zhuzi's movements after they returned. This was explained in advance, but no one has contacted his contact person. This made him a little uneasy.
However, on second thought, there might be something special that delayed it. After all, Zhu Zhu and the others must arrange some things before they go back. Maybe those people can't leave.
It's normal to not get in touch all day and all night.
However, his eyelids kept twitching. His personal maid put a sticker on it, but it didn't turn out well either. While he was worried, his father's attendant came and called him over. Said the master is back.
Arriving at the study, Li Yongfang was sitting upright on the Taishi chair.
No one else was in the room except for the father and son.
"How was your discussion with Uncle Dingyuan's people? I just came back tonight and I have been thinking about this matter." Li Yongfang said.
Li Yongfang has been guiding Li Yangeng behind the scenes to do this. Li Yongfang has been secretly in contact with Dong Lin to prepare an escape route for himself.
Dong Lin paid a huge price for this transaction. Li Yongfang couldn't help but feel unmoved.
Seeing Li Yangeng's hesitation, he felt a little unhappy. He was not satisfied with this eldest son. Although he had cultivated him a lot, it was always not to his liking. He couldn't live up to his expectations.
"Retell the conversation verbatim." Li Yongfang took a sip of tea from the tureen and said calmly.
Li Yangeng carefully explained the complete process from the beginning to the meeting. He recounted it over and over while looking at Li Yongfang's face with the corner of his eyes.
Li Yongfang's face was expressionless at first, but after he finished speaking, Li Yongfang's expression turned gloomy.
"Father, there is something missing about the child."
Li Yongfang shook his head and said: "You are still young and are too impatient. Some of the signs are too obvious. But the other party is also a young man, so you may not be able to see any flaws. However, there is a strange problem. They were not persistent in the end. So, you seemed a little too indifferent in finding Liu Xingzuo's family for them. Your explanation before leaving was more like a formality."
Li Yangeng said with a smile: "Such a big thing is not so easy to accomplish. Besides, my Li family is willing to cooperate, but they can't make the decision on such a big thing. My child thinks that their top priority is to return to Yang Fan."
Li Yongfang shook his head and said: "No, I have a feeling. It seems that they don't expect you to help them complete their mission. Finding Liu Xingzuo's family is their only purpose of coming to Shenyang this time. How could it be that they met by chance? You, and then after listening to what you said, you gave up the mission and went back. This can't be explained."
Li Yangeng felt a little funny in his heart. The older his father got, the less courageous he became.
It was a great thing for them that the Li family had contact with Daming, so they didn't hurry back to recover. This is no more important than Liu Xingzuo’s family.
"What did they do and say during the day and night they went back?" Li Yongfang asked with a frown.
"Well, we haven't been able to contact our hidden stakes, and we don't know the news yet."
Li Yongfang's face changed drastically and she exclaimed, "Oh no, something happened."
At this moment, a low horn sound sounded. Then, the sound of drums and the clanging of big bells rang out from the drum towers and bell towers in the city.
Li Yongfang stood up with a surprised look on his face. This was the sound of the alarm. He lost his voice and said, "What happened? The whole city is under martial law."
At this time, Li Shun knocked on the door outside and shouted: "What's wrong, sir? The beacons and yandun in the south of the city have been lit. The fire in the Hu family's shack is so bright that half of the sky is red. The powder magazine has exploded." The city is in chaos, saying that Mao Wenlong and the Dongjiang Navy are here to kill us."
