A few days later, in the coastal waters of the east coast, four three-masted sand ships sailed one after another, and the sails with full wind and hulls drove forward at full speed. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The shopkeeper Qian, who was sent by the helmsman of Guangzhou to be responsible for transporting tributes to the north, and Sun Jiaqi were leading the sand boat at this time.

"Old Qian, why do you say that this year's tribute is nearly one more than in previous years?" In a well-decorated cabin, Sun Jiaqi and the shopkeeper sat opposite each other. After drinking a few glasses of wine, Sun Jiaqi couldn't help but ask.

"Hehe, you don't know." The money shopkeeper took a sip of wine, twisted his beard and said, "I heard that the tributes we sent to the capital in the past all brought some private goods, so as to deal with those dignitaries and nobles in the capital." I didn't go to Chengjing at the end of last year, so I have to take some more with me this year. ”

"Entrainment of bootlegged goods? But these goods were purchased by me personally according to the list, and there are not many of them? Sun Jiaqi was very puzzled.

"Hey, the top has his own way of doing things, if you can see it, you can hide it from anyone's eyes. Don't worry about this, when we reach Jingshi smoothly, we will have someone to take care of us. The shopkeeper picked up the wine glass in his hand and said: "Drink and drink, such a mellow Kinmen sorghum wine, if we didn't go on this trip, we really wouldn't be able to drink it!" ”

Sun Jiaqi didn't ask any more questions, anyway, it wasn't a little person like him who should worry about it, so he also picked up his wine glass and continued to drink with the money shopkeeper. Kinmen sorghum wine can already be called extremely high in this era, and after a few glasses, the two of them are already drunk and drunk. At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps outside the ship, followed by a knock on the door and a slightly anxious voice from a crew member: "Two stewards, no, the cabin is leaking!" ”

The dizzy Qian and Sun were originally a little impatient, but when they heard this, they all shook their heads. The money shopkeeper immediately opened the door and asked a series of questions: "How is the situation, is it serious?" Can it be repaired? What about the cargo in the cabin, is it wet? ”

The crew member was still clear-headed, and immediately replied: "The water leakage is not serious at present, but there are cracks on the sides of two keels, and it will definitely not be repaired for a while." However, we found it in time, and all the cargo was moved to the deck first, without getting wet. ”

As soon as they heard that there was something wrong with the keel, the heads of the money shopkeeper and Sun Jiaqi were buzzing. But as long as the keel is repaired, it will definitely not work without ten days and a half months. Don't say that they are still at sea and can't repair it properly, even if they could, they wouldn't have been able to delay it for so long!

The two of them hurried out of the cabin and rushed to the warehouse where the goods were stacked below, and saw that the water was already up to their ankles, and the leaking place was still seeping water out, and they couldn't help but turn around in a hurry.

"Why don't we move the cargo and people to the next few ships?" Sun Jiaqi clapped his hands suddenly.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up at first, but when he noticed a pile of wood on the deck, he dimmed again, and sighed, "It's okay to talk about other things, but these woods can't." Not to mention the problem of draft, in order to show respect for the emperor, these ships that specialize in transporting tribute have divided their cabins into independent small rooms, so that the tribute can be displayed in different categories. Only this ship was added temporarily and was not modified, and it was specially loaded with these extra timbers. ”

"Then put it on the deck!" Sun Jiaqi said again.

"Which of these timbers is not worth a thousand taels, if it is not an emergency at this time, it can't be taken out anyway, in case it gets wet and there is a little bit of damage, you and I will not be enough to compensate for it!" The money shopkeeper hates the way that iron does not become steel.

Sun Jiaqi was worried when he heard it, and the money shopkeeper asked the crew to stop the ship first, and all of them came down to clear the stagnant water in the cabin, but such a drop in the bucket could not solve the problem at all. The two of them scratched their ears and cheeks as anxiously as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

"Hey, you said that the emperor wants gold and silver, and pearls and jade, why do you want so much wood!" Sun Jiaqi was very distressed, and even the emperor complained.

The shopkeeper didn't bother to remind him of his tongue at the moment, so he only sighed and said: "I heard that General You, who returned to the dynasty this time, doesn't like these yellow and white things in his life, but he has a soft spot for all kinds of wood products. Even the Queen Mother, because she likes to worship the Buddha, is also very fond of the small leaf red sandalwood and agarwood. In order to do what he likes, the emperor specially instructed us to collect some good wood here and send it over. Hey, if we make a mistake on this, I'm afraid we won't be able to eat and walk away! Speaking of this, he and Sun Jiaqi's faces completely collapsed, and they had already foreseen their tragic fate.

The money shopkeeper thought for a long time and had no better way, so he had to settle for the next best thing and move the things to other ships first. But before he could speak, a sharp-eyed crew member noticed a vague outline in the sea ahead of them heading towards them. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and after confirming again, he hurriedly shouted in surprise: "Look, everyone, there is a big ship coming towards us in front!" ”

Everyone was surprised when they heard this, and they put down the basin and scoop in their hands to draw water, and leaned on the side of the boat to look. Of course, the money shopkeeper and Sun Jiaqi are also among them. Sure enough, as they got closer, a large sand ship that turned out to be four masts clearly appeared in front of them. I saw that the ship was not slow even though it was going against the wind, and that it was zigzag forward with a sidesail on its mast.

"Quick, get that horn and send a distress signal to someone!" The money shopkeeper hurriedly commanded. God really has eyes, send charcoal in the snow! The crew soon took the horn and blew it, and the deep, low sound spread in all directions, and carried the wind to the big ship.

"Big brother, the fish seems to have taken the bait. The old man Najia is really godly, and he said that the ship would be broken today! A young man of about twenty-four or five years old said with a little surprise to a burly man in his early thirties beside him.

"Well, that was specially found by the uncle, how can it be compared to ordinary people." The strong man listened to the horn blowing on the opposite side, but did not move, but his expression was a little teasing. It wasn't until the third round of horns was over that he slowly waved his hand to the crew waiting behind him.

Hearing that the other party finally responded, the hanging hearts of the money shopkeeper and all the crew members fell back into their stomachs. He touched the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve and ordered the crew to restart their journey and move closer to each other. After about a quarter of an hour, the two ships finally came together. The money shopkeeper looked up and saw that this big ship, which was more than a zhang higher than his own and nearly twice as wide, was equipped with two bow oars and six large oars on the hull, which was extremely magnificent and magnificent, and he felt that he was hopefully rescued! A gangway was lowered on the side of the big ship, and one of the crew members poked his head out and said, "Please come up to the master of the ship!" The money shopkeeper handed Sun Jiaqi a color, and then he hurriedly climbed the gangway. As soon as he got on the boat, he had a sense of wide vision. The deck was extremely spacious, and the ship seemed to be empty, carrying no cargo, and the draft was shallow. When he looked again, he realized that it was clearly a brand new ship, and the tung oil that had just been put on made the entire hull glisten in the sunlight, and there was still a faint smell of paint in the air. As he followed the crew toward the bow of the ship, he looked around and saw that the bow cabin was not elaborate and ornate, but it was neat and orderly, and the crew was fully equipped and performed their duties in an orderly manner. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became, the more relieved he became, and when he saw the obviously leading man, he couldn't wait to bow his hand and said, "Thank you, Brother Ren, for being willing to stop the boat and rescue us and solve our urgent needs." The strong man didn't answer his words, waved his hand slightly, and said: "Don't say that this brother, since I am passing by, I naturally want to see if there is anything I can do, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to help you." The shopkeeper was very anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "This benevolent brother, we are from the Guangzhou Cao Gang, and this time we are transporting the tribute that the emperor wants." It's just that there is a problem with our ship, it has been seeping water, and it can't be repaired for a while, so I want to ask my brother to give us a ride, even if we can't send it to Jingshi, we can solve it ourselves when we get to Yangzhou Caobang rudder. If this batch of goods goes out of the way, I'm afraid that my shipwand of brothers will be killed! I hope that Brother Ren will help, and we will be grateful after that! The strong man couldn't help but be moved, and his face showed hesitation. The young man beside him looked at the anxious appearance of the money shopkeeper, as if he couldn't bear it, and said to the strong man: "Big brother, or let's help him." Anyway, our mission for this trip has also been completed, this is also the emperor's mission, maybe we can still be rewarded for our righteousness and bravery! The money shopkeeper hurriedly responded and said: "Yes, yes, Brother Tai will help me on this trip, and I will definitely be able to show my face in front of those dignitaries and relatives in Beijing, and I will definitely have a bright future in the future!" He thought it was ridiculous when he heard the young man's words, and he must have never seen anything of the world. is also rewarded, I'm afraid I won't even have a chance for you to come forward at that time. It's just that now he has a request for the other party, so he fools them by the pole. The strong man and the young man secretly sneered when they heard his words, but they looked very interested on their faces. The strong man pondered for a while, then nodded to the money shopkeeper and said, "In this case, I have to help with this." The shopkeeper was overjoyed and thanked him again and again. The young man stopped him and said, "Big brother, don't thank you, hurry up and go back and arrange to move all the goods over!" The money shopkeeper was reminded of this, came back to his senses, hurried back to his boat, and led everyone with the help of the strong man and his group, but it took more than half an hour to transfer everything.

The money shopkeeper took a long breath, his heart was steady, and he talked with the young man who was standing beside him.