Firecrackers exploded, fireworks soared into the sky, and there was a lot of excitement under the city wall of Chuzhou. The gongs and drums of the Sun family class started playing, and the drama slowly unfolded.
Unlike previous dynasties, the Song Dynasty relied heavily on commerce for its finances. In order to collect more taxes, the Song Dynasty was the only dynasty in Chinese history that did not impose a curfew.
Even in the powerful and prosperous Tang Dynasty, people could only play in the square at night and were not allowed to come and go at will. But in the Song Dynasty, people could play as long as they wanted.
At this time, countless people gathered below the stage. They were attracted by the singing of "Yay Ya Ya" on the stage and slowly immersed themselves in it.
On the wide Huaihe River, the passenger ship sailed slowly and gradually left the south bank.
Kuo Duan and Ye Luxuan were a little surprised when they heard the movement in Chuzhou City and looked at the fireworks on the south bank.
"Is today a holiday?" In Kuoduan's image, such a scene can only be seen during holidays.
Ye Luxuan shook his head, "It doesn't seem to be a special day!"
When the two were confused, Chengde smiled and said: "This is the opening of a theater in the city!"
Ye Luxuan heard this and said, "Who is the owner of this theater? Is he capable of such a feat?"
Kuo Duan heard that it was a theater opening, and there was such a big battle, so he was quite curious.
Kuo Duan knew how valuable gunpowder was. The other party kept firing it as if he didn't want money. He must have strong financial resources. He must note this person down and make a big deal when he goes south.
Chengde took out two balls from the box and said with a smile: "The guests should know this person!"
The expressions of Kuo Duan and Ye Luxuan changed instantly, and they looked at Chengde who had walked to the side of the ship with some shock.
Kuo Duan sensed something was wrong and was frightened but did not drink: "Who are you?"
At this time, the stern of the boat suddenly heard the sound of something falling into the water. The boatmen who were operating the boat took advantage of the Mongols' attention and were attracted by the fireworks in Chuzhou, and jumped into the Huaihe River one after another.
Chengde also held two sheep bladders, stood on the box on the side of the ship, and laughed loudly: "Kuduan, you fell into our Master Zhao's plan!"
After saying this, he jumped directly into the water, shocking everyone.
"Zhao Tai?" Kuo Duan said the name in a panic, "What does he want to do with me?"
As if to answer him, a Mongolian soldier rolled out of the cabin and said, "Your Majesty! Something bad has happened. The cabin is flooded!"
As soon as these words came out, it was like a thunder exploded in Kuo Duan's mind, making his head buzz and his whole body stood stunned on the spot.
Yeluxuan was so frightened that his legs weakened and he sat down on the deck. The Mongolians on the deck instantly panicked.
"Vicious!" Kuo Duan woke up and shouted quickly: "Quick, find a way to close all the loopholes!"
Ye Luxuan also reacted, "Yes, yes! Find something to block it with, get a quilt, get some clothes! Go quickly!"
The Mongolians on the boat were all panicked. Mongolian men were invincible on horseback, but not many of them knew how to swim.
Moreover, the current Huaihe River is very wide. The Yellow River takes the Huaihe River and flows into the sea. The two rivers meet near Chuzhou, resulting in a large amount of water in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River. The width of the river is not inferior to that of the Yangtze River.
With such a wide river, even if they knew how to paddle, they would not be able to swim to the north bank.
The Mongols panicked and rushed into the cabin, looked for quilts, and then plugged the gap. However, since Zhao Tai wanted to cut the ship, it was impossible to leave them anything to plug the gap.
"Your Majesty, there are no quilts on the boat!" A wet guard ran out.
"Zhao Tai! I swear to kill you!" Kuoduan's eyes were red and he looked like a wild beast. He didn't expect that he would be plotted against by Zhao Tai.
Ye Luxuan shouted quickly: "Take off your clothes quickly and use your clothes to block it!"
The Mongolians on the boat reacted and hurriedly took off their clothes, some even leaving no underwear. Then they collected them and hurriedly entered the leaky cabin.
When the Mongols on board rescued the passenger ship, the drama in Chuzhou City also reached a small climax. People cheered and applauded continuously, and no one noticed the desperate passenger ship on the river in the distance.
Zhao Tai stood on the city wall, his robe blown by the night wind, and sang quite proudly: "I am watching the mountain scenery from the city tower, and I can hear the chaos outside the city~~~"
On the Huaihe River, the passenger ship was sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. The Mongolians on the ship were all wiped out, but their clothes could not block all the gaps.
At this time, as there was more and more water in the cabin, the Mongolian soldiers could no longer stay inside and ran onto the deck one by one.
"Your Majesty, we can't stop it!" The soldiers who escaped from the cabin said with fear on their faces: "Your Majesty, the ship is going to sink."
The naked Kuo Duan's face instantly turned pale, and he retreated continuously until he hit the guardrail.
"How could it be that this king will die here?" Kuoduan scratched out marks on the guardrail with his hand, his face full of reluctance.
He traveled all over the world and participated in many foreign conquests of Mongolia. Kuo Duan thought about dying in battle, but never thought that he would drown in the river.
At this time, Ye Luxuan was in a hurry and said urgently: "Your Majesty, let someone look for driftwood and light the sails."
"Light the sail? Are you afraid that this king will not die quickly enough?" Kuo Duan looked confused.
Yeluxuan explained: "There is our army on the north bank. If we see a boat on fire on the river, we may send a boat over to check. As long as we hold the driftwood, we may be able to hold on until the boat on the north bank comes to rescue."
Kuo Duan reacted and immediately shouted: "Quick! Find a piece of driftwood for me!"
The Mongolian soldiers immediately slashed at the sinking passenger ship, trying to find a suitable piece of wood. The naked people broke into cold sweats as they looked at the sinking passenger ship.
At this time, wood chips were flying on the boat, and Kuoduan jumped into the water with a piece of wood and Yelu Xuan. The Mongolian soldiers behind him hurriedly lit the sails, and a fire broke out on the boat. One after another, the Mongolians jumped off the passenger ship and struggled in the water.
The Mongols were not good at water and there were so many people on the boat that they were submerged by the river water without a few splashes of floating wood.
At this time, Kuo Duan and Ye Luxuan were swimming north holding the driftwood. The passenger ship behind them sank, and all the Mongolians around them who had no time to swim away were sucked into the water.
In a moment, only a small number of the more than seventy people were left, floating on the river with driftwood in their arms.
At this time, as the ship sank, Kuoduan didn't panic anymore. He hugged the driftwood and looked at the swimming figures around him, but suddenly burst into laughter.
Ye Luxuan was stunned, "Your Majesty, why are you laughing?"
Kuo Duan smiled and said: "I laugh at Zhao Tai. After all, he is young and does not think carefully enough. If he had sent a few ships to follow him, I would have died without a burial place today. But he did not send a ship to chase him. Wait until I return. Bei'an will take revenge!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several sharp arrows were shot from the river. The Mongolians who could not avoid being shot screamed, let go of the driftwood, and sank to the bottom of the river.
Kuo Duan and Yelu Xuan looked at each other with horror in their eyes. They saw several small boats rowing past in the darkness, full of soldiers holding bows, arrows and spears.
The boat rowed over, and the soldiers on the boat shot at the Mongols when they saw them. When they got close, they stabbed them with their spears, and stabbed each Mongolian soldier into the river.
Kuoduan was so shocked that his mouth opened wide, and he shouted in horror: "Damn, paddle quickly!"
