There are many typhoons and heavy rains in the Pacific Ocean in July. The risks of fishing at this time are not small. In previous years, fishermen in Ryukyu had to struggle to go fishing in order to make a living, no matter how dangerous it was, otherwise their family would starve to death.
But in the past year, thanks to the blessing of Prime Minister Xiao, the people of Ryukyu have suddenly become a lot better. Jobs on the docks are easy to find, and wages are higher than in the past. Moreover, under the shock of the new army, gangsters like Ohachiro are The elements also disappeared.
With stable money and easy money, people are no longer willing to work hard. When many fishermen see that the weather is not good, they would rather do part-time work on the pier than risk venturing into the sea.
"Sister! Take out the dried fish that you didn't finish drying yesterday. The weather is really good today, the sun is bright and the wind is strong..." On the top of a hill to the east of Naha Port, fisherman Chang Sanhao was stretching his arms. Lanyao ordered his men to dry the dried fish quickly.
"Where's the stubborn donkey? I asked him to mend the net yesterday, but why hasn't he done anything today? This lazy guy only eats and sleeps, and doesn't do anything serious..."
Chang Sanhao stood in the yard outside the thatched shed, instructing his men to go about their business. Even after shouting for a long time, the stubborn donkey didn't come out of the house.
The thin dark woman named Ximei came out with a basket of dried fish and rolled her eyes at him, "What repairs are needed? Can the torn fishing net be repaired? Go to the dock as soon as possible to buy a new one, it will save me some time." I’m angry for nothing!”
The younger sister, whose surname is Sun, is the only woman in the room. Although she is dark and skinny, she still has a bit of delicate beauty between her eyebrows. When she speaks, Chang Sanhao doesn't even dare to fart and quickly smiles.
"Hey...we can't spend it like this even if we have money? I've bought fishing nets three times this month. I'm afraid that people will become suspicious if I buy them again!"
"What the heck are you suspicious of? How can I spend my money on whatever I want?" At this time, a tall man walked out of the house and stared at Chang Sanhao with an unyielding look on his face. This guy was the stubborn donkey who had just been scolded.
Chang Sanhao was obviously the leader of this group. When he saw that his authority was being challenged, he was so angry that blue veins popped up on his forehead: "Damn stubborn donkey, don't forget our mission! We have to act like what we do. How can there be half a dozen people in the world?" A fisherman who buys new fishing nets three times a month? Doesn’t this reveal everything?”
"I tell you, if you don't weave this broken fishing net for me today, I will let you lie down and go out!"
A person's nickname can be called Stubborn Donkey, and people only remember his nickname and forget his real name, which already speaks volumes about his character. When Stubborn Donkey heard that Chang Sanhao actually dared to threaten him, he became furious and rushed forward. Just one punch.
"My surname is Chang, you bastard, remember this. I am here to be a spy, not a slave for you... Do you think I have to listen to you because I am one level above me? You can just dream... …”
"I have never played with fishing nets in my life. Broken three of them in half a month is enough to give you face. Damn, have you embezzled all the money the court gave you? You still dare to ask me to mend the nets? Grandma's... "
He never expected that Stubborn Donkey could be good at Arhat Fist. Chang Sanhao was caught off guard and was beaten back step by step. He could only parry but not fight back.
"Okay, okay, stubborn donkey, you finally told the truth. You just want my position, and you also want to steal my younger sister! I tell you, this is just a dream..."
Chang Sanhao was not given for free, his mantis punch was as fast as lightning, and soon the two of them were fighting, and the dried fish around them were covered in dust.
What's even more strange is that Sun Ximei and the dozen or so fishermen around her didn't feel strange at all. Instead, they all smiled, shook their heads, and dispersed around to help the two fighting people become vigilant.
Chang Sanhao, Stubborn Lu, and Sun Ximei, in the eyes of outsiders, are just a group of ordinary fishermen from the Qing Dynasty. They speak Chinese, wear Chinese clothes, and have braids. There are still many fishermen like them in Ryukyu.
During the Tongzhi period, after more than ten years of turmoil in the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom, many rules had ceased to exist in name only. For example, the sea ban was still an unbreakable iron law in name. However, due to the impact of the war, local officials had long turned a blind eye. One glance.
In the past, sails were not allowed to go into the sea, but now it has become possible to catch fish secretly in the offshore. This was followed by fishermen secretly entering the deep sea to fish. In the end, some fishermen even crossed the East China Sea to fish in Ryukyu.
There is no such thing as a passport in this era. The Ryukyu Chinese and indigenous people are very familiar with the fishermen in Zhejiang, and some families even intermarry with each other. Therefore, these fishermen live in Ryukyu as casually as their second home.
However, Chang Sanhao and the others are not ordinary fishermen. Their true identity is the spies sent to Ryukyu by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to find out information about Xiao Letian for the imperial court. Especially now, when the news of Xiao Letian's death has been transmitted to East Asia, every move of the Ryukyu Kingdom has become the focus of the Manchu and Qing court.
What will King Shang Tai do? What are the plans of the Japanese Shimadzu family? What measures will foreigners from various countries take? Even the Hunan Army, which actually controls the south of the Yangtze River, will have any hidden moves. These are the objects of the imperial court's focus.
The best source of this information is Ryukyu, an island country in the East China Sea where the Chinese and foreigners live together. It is really difficult to keep any secrets.
"Stop! Stop fighting... Look, what's coming from the sea to the south?" Just when Chang Sanhao and Stubborn Donkey were covered in dirt, Sun Ximei suddenly threw away the dustpan and pointed to the sea to the south. shouted.
"Where is the clairvoyance? Where did you buy the clairvoyance from the foreigners? Hurry up and get it for me..." When the telescope was handed to Sun Ximei, she snatched it and looked south closely with her eyes.
At this time, Zuilushi and Chang Sanhao stopped fighting. They stood arm-in-arm behind Ximei, looking anxiously towards the south, and kept asking questions.
"What's going on? What's going on? Isn't it a sea ship coming from the south? Is there anything strange?" Before they could ask clearly, Sun Ximei threw away her clairvoyance and ran towards the house with a scream.
"Cut down the tree! Cut down the message tree quickly and report the news to the brothers...Where are the pens and paper? Where are the pigeons? Damn you bastards, who told you to touch my things? Catch all the carrier pigeons..."
"Damn foreign devils! Damn Xiao Letian! Now we are blocked here... That is a French battleship, I recognize the French flag!"
With a bang, everyone was shocked. The main purpose of coming to Ryukyu this time was to observe every move of the French. Now everyone has not met the French envoys, but they have met the French fleet. This shows that the French are Looking for trouble.
"Let me see, you let me see..." Stubborn Donkey stood next to Chang Sanhao and couldn't help but grab the clairvoyance, but Chang Sanhao had no time to argue with him at this time, because in his eyes, ten ships The murderous warships were arranging in a wild goose-wing formation and were pressing over from south to north. Countless fishing boats and cargo ships were fleeing in terror on the sea.
Although the location chosen by Sun Ximei and the others was not the highest on Ryukyu Island, it was almost there. When they discovered that the warship flying the French flag appeared on the sea, the Naha Port at the foot of the mountain did not know anything about it. This is the best time to release information.
The heavy ax struck the cherry blossom tree outside the thatched house again and again, and each blow caused a rain of leaves flying around, just like the cherry blossom rain at the beginning of spring. After a while, the cherry blossom tree as thick as a bowl of sea fell. Being brought down.
Less than ten minutes later, at the end of the northern line of sight, on the high mountain of another small island, an equally large chestnut tree began to tremble non-stop, and the leaves fell down. After a while, Just like the fate of the cherry tree, it rolled down the hillside.
This is a very old way of transmitting information, but its efficiency is second only to the telegraph line. After the three message trees were knocked down, a sailboat hidden on the northern island immediately set sail and sailed towards the west.
This is not the only way to transmit information. These Qingyao spies also have more than ten carrier pigeons. Sun Ximei wrote the information about the French warships approaching the port on silk ribbons. After writing one, the subordinate next to her stuffed it into a thin bamboo tube. , and finally tied to the feet of the homing pigeon, taken to the back mountain and released.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry... Write more copies. There are many dangers in crossing the sea. You may not know how many of these pigeons can survive... Hurry up. If you hurry up, Xiao Letian's new army will notice something abnormal later. Let's I can’t let go even if I want to…”
Xiao Letian's intelligence department is very good at using homing pigeons, and for this reason they are also very good at preventing homing pigeons. In a short while, as long as the new army discovers the traces of the French fleet in the south, Wang Huaiyuan's execution hall will immediately launch a shielding plan .
The falcons raised in the execution hall, as well as countless sharpshooters hidden in cities and mountaintops, will kill all the pigeons flying in the sky. There is not much time left for Chang Sanhao and the others.
Thumping, fluttering... one after another, the carrier pigeons were released into the sky, flying towards the western continent. When the fifth carrier pigeon was put down, the outpost of the Naha New Army also discovered an abnormality, and the southern fleet finally Discovered by the new army.
Wuwuwu... The sounds of horns and conches resounded through the port, and the fixed checkpoints on the surrounding hills began to fire guns rhythmically. In less than three minutes, the entire port was in chaos, and the streets were full of people running wildly.
"Enemy situation discovered! Fifteen nautical miles south... the French fleet was discovered... Our enemy has finally arrived..."
"Deploy defenses, deploy defenses, enter a state of war...Brothers from the New Army enter the fortifications...All reserve forces organize the people to evacuate into the mountains!"
"The execution hall starts the shielding plan... releases the falcons... the snipers are ready... to shoot down all the birds in the sky..."
"The forts are in place...the telegraph operators are in place...take off the gun jackets...open the gun doors...let's do this..."
The whole city was full of orders, and messengers were running wildly everywhere. Telegraph operators hidden in private houses and fortifications began to communicate with each other, and in the end, King Shangtai's name appeared even on the walls of Shuri Castle. figure.
"Look, there are homing pigeons in the sky..." The old hunters trained by the execution hall saw the abnormality in the sky at a glance. Without saying a word, they took off the rifles behind their backs and fired violently in the air.
One after another, the carrier pigeons were shot down, and soon these hunters found the target they were looking for. "Look, it's Sakura Mountain to the east... Where do the carrier pigeons fly out from? Rush up and surround them." , seize these fine works!”
At this time, Chang Sanhao and the others were ready to retreat. The hut was doused with kerosene and everything that could not be taken away was thrown in.
The stubborn donkey lay on the stone and looked down the mountain. He was so frightened that his back was cold. "Grandma, run away... there must be three or four hundred people in this dark place? Our mission has been completed, don't work hard!"
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