Chapter Seventy-Six: To go deep into the wilderness, you must be bold

Ou Da Niu can find the coal mine, but there is still an adventure.

Led by Ah Mao and an elderly native, they sailed up the Tamsui River in a flat-bottomed river boat called the Treasure Island. This flat-bottomed river boat was also built by the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, using oars and sails, and at first because of the southeast wind, they used oars to drop their sails and went southeast along the river, and it took two hours to see a large tributary estuary. Following the instructions of the old native, the "Treasure Island" sailed into the tributary, continued to sail southeast, and after another two hours, began to turn due east.

On both sides of the river were flat land covered with vegetation, and they stopped to look ashore to see that the land was extremely fertile. When the river bends to the northeast, they can raise their sails and go faster. It took them only one day to reach the place where the old natives had spoken, and the old natives admired the speed of the oared boats, and when they got off the boat, they seemed reluctant to leave.

"This ship is like flying, and it is amazing!" Not only are the older natives extremely envious of this paddle boat, but also Ao Sayang from the Central Plains, who also has the same expression as him.

Ao Sayang is a member of the Red Jacket Army, and he has just turned 18 years old this year, so he has lost his qualification to enter the righteous school. His family was a blacksmith on Shandong East Road, and he followed his father to fight iron until he was 14 years old, and then the rebel army rose, and his father joined the rebel army, unfortunately killed with Yang An'er. Li Quan's subordinates kept all the blacksmiths in the selection of craftsmen, but they left him out because of his youth. When he arrived at Deliuqiu, because of the lack of blacksmiths on the island, he volunteered to come out, and he was about the same age as Ou Bama, so Ou Da Niu was very happy, and regarded him as his own brother.

"Paddle boats are common in Jiangnan, but they are also unique like this treasure island." Ou Daniu said with some pride: "This boat was built under the guidance of Da Lang, and my brother also has a share of credit in it!" ”

"Brother Ou, I've heard you mention your brother countless times along the way, is your brother really so powerful?" Ao Sayang asked curiously.

"That's natural, do you see the righteous boy, my brothers are the same as them, they are all taught by Da Lang!" Ou Daniu foamed at the mouth when he said this, and said with his hand: "Now the righteous boys have been sent out by Da Lang to take on the big responsibility, but my brother is still by Da Lang's side, Da Lang said, what is my brother, what is a 'scientific genius', and he is a character that cannot be compared to a hundred champions!" ”

His words were not boasting, when Ou Laogen wanted to go back to Ou Ba Ma to test his fame, Ou Ba Ma refused to live or die, and even moved out of Zhao and Ju to persuade, Zhao and Ju said to Ou Laogen that "a hundred champions are not comparable", Ou Laogen has seen Zhao and Ju's methods more than once, and he is convinced, and he also knows that what Ou Bama has learned is not consistent with the imperial examination, so he can only acquiesce.

"Da Lang ......" Ao Sayang unconsciously remembered the twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, who had always been a man of few words, at least when he came to Tamsui in the same boat with him, he had hardly seen him laugh. It is said that when he grows up, he will marry the fourth lady as his wife, and some say that he is just a concubine, and the heroic heroine of the fourth lady will even show the appearance of a child in front of him.

"Da Lang is really that powerful?" He asked, swallowing.

"That's natural, our righteous young man, which one was not taught by him, it is Zhao Zi said Steward Zhao, do you know?" Ou Daniu asked Ao Sayang, and after seeing him nod, he said: "Such a young man is already a man in charge, but he also learned from Da Lang, and when he entered the villa, he was only slightly younger than you." ”

Zhao Ziyue had a deeper impression on Ao Sayang than Zhao and Ju, after all, it was he who went to Haizhou to pick up the Red Turban Rebels. After hearing this, Ao Sayang was taken aback: "The Zhao family he entered at the age of seventeen? Then he was literate? ”

"If you were literate, you wouldn't have given your family a name." Ou Daniu laughed: "He is very hardworking, and he is not afraid of shame, and he follows the righteous children to forget to sleep and eat, so that he has today's scenery." ”

Ao Sayang nodded, thought about it for a while, and said with a smile: "Brother Ou, are you familiar with the young man Yixue?" ”

"They are quite familiar with Zicheng." Because of Ou Bama, Ou Da Niu is more familiar with the first phase of the righteous boys.

"Can you say something for me, so that I can learn arithmetic with them at night, and I will never be lazy when I work during the day!"

Ou Daniu was taken aback: "Do you want to learn from Zhao Ziyue?" He is so hardworking, I'm afraid you can't learn it. ”

"I don't want to learn from him to be a housekeeper, I just want to learn to read and count." Ao Sayang pursed his lips: "Brother Ou, I have wanted to learn literacy and arithmetic since I was a child." ”

He didn't say it in detail, and the reason why he proposed to learn was the main reason. He originally thought that Zhao Ziyue had been raised since he was a child, so he would take on a big responsibility at a young age, but now that he learned that he had only studied for six or seven years, his heart couldn't help but be lively. He has the unique simplicity of a Shandong nephew (Note 1), and he recognized one thing, that is, nine cows could not be pulled back.

"Let's go, let's go!"

They chatted non-stop, and Ah Mao couldn't wait impatiently and urged on the side.

Five men were left to guard the boat, and the other twenty-four, led by the elder native, began to cross the forest. Although the mountain here is not high, but the forest is deep and the grass is dense, and there is almost no way to find the road. In addition to carrying bows and crossbows and swords, they also picked out two baskets of silk and satin, which were intended as gifts for the natives here.

The insects and birds in the forest sing the cool breeze, if it is not for the occasional long insects, it is also in a good mood along the way. Because it was already summer time, although the time was nearly late, the sky was still quite bright, Ou Daniu asked Ah Mao: "Ah Mao, when will you arrive?" ”

"It's close, it's close." After asking the old native in the native language, Ah Mao replied with his hand: "One hundred, one hundred, and one hundred bamboos!" ”

He couldn't express how far he was in the way of the Song people, so he could only say so.

After passing through the forest, they finally saw a Turen village, and heard Ah Mao say that it was called "Xikou" in the Turen language. (Note 2)

As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the village, they were surrounded by a group of natives with dart guns, and they looked ill-intentioned.

"Why, didn't you say that the tribe wasn't warlike?" Ou Da Niu was a little flustered, grabbed Ah Mao and asked.

Ah Mao was also a little nervous, and the Song people were carrying bows and crossbows, and they all raised them at this time. The old native hurriedly shouted, and Ah Mao followed suit, and one of the native people around them came out and circled the crowd twice before speaking.

"Other tribes have broken into them, barbarians of the mountains!" Ah Mao listened to him for a while and then said to Ou Da Niu.

"Tell them that we are here to exchange these silks for this kind of stone." Ou Daniu has begun to retreat in his heart, but since he has arrived here, it is obviously impossible to go back like this.

"They said we were welcome!"

After looking at the silk, the natives relaxed, and although they were not yet civilized, they also knew that if they came with hostility, they would never take these things with them.

After being welcomed to the village, the local patriarch also heard that he came out, and when he saw the gift given to her by Ou Daniu, she couldn't help but smile, and she was even more overjoyed when she heard that these people wanted to exchange silk for the black stone. Although this black stone can be burned, it is more precious than silk!

"She said they had this kind of black stone!" After listening to her babbling for a while, Ah Mao translated it but only one sentence, and then saw the chief of the Xikou clan giving a few orders to the warriors of their tribe, and several warriors of their tribe immediately ran back, and it didn't take long for them to carry a few baskets of coal.

Ou Da Niu and Ao Sayang looked at each basket, these baskets were made of rattan by the natives, and each basket could hold at least 200 catties of coal. The quality of the coal is good, one of the baskets is especially good, Ou Da Niu and Ao Sayang exchanged opinions for a while, and then pointed to the best coal in the basket: "Ah Mao, ask them where this coal comes from." ”

After Ah Mao asked, the natives were very honest, and said that they were dug up from the south side of the mountain, and because they had to climb the mountain, the number was smaller. Seeing that they were straightforward, Ou Da Niu put down most of the worries in his heart, and said with a smile: "That's it, you tell her, in the future, we only need this kind of black stone, every seven feet of silk, five baskets of such black stones...... If they ask for food, we will exchange it for two baskets of coal. ”

After Ah Mao heard the words to the patriarch of the Xikou clan, the patriarch's face immediately turned into a chrysanthemum, digging some coal and stone is nothing to the natives, but this silk is completely rare. At this time, the clothes worn by the natives are still woven with wild hemp, this kind of smooth, soft and breathable fabric, where have they seen it, and Ou Da Niu brought it is made by the Hanging Island Weaving Workshop with the craftsmanship of later generations, which is extremely beautiful, and it is also a sought-after item to Lin'an.

After the two sides agreed on the price, the patriarch of the Xikou tribe wanted to stay with everyone, and they were very hospitable, but Ou Laoniu politely refused on the grounds that there were still people watching the boat by the river, and just stayed for dinner. The food of the natives is nothing more than deer breast and wild vegetables, and the taste is naturally much worse than that of fresh water.

"Ask them who they said they were intruding into their territory." Ou Daniu thought of this and was somewhat worried.

After asking, Ah Mao said, "There are some Atayal people (Note 2) who have come down the mountain. ”

Ou Da Niu didn't know anything about these native tribes, and he couldn't help but feel a little panicked after Ah Mao learned that this Atayal people were fierce and decorated with human skulls. Seeing that it was getting dark, he insisted on leaving Xikou for fear that something would be wrong. Seeing that she couldn't keep it, the female patriarch of the Xikou tribe ordered the young man in the clan to carry six baskets of coal as a return gift.

They returned to their hearts like arrows, so they did not talk as they did when they came, and soon came to the water's edge. The people of Xikou were very surprised when they saw the "Treasure Island", although the natives could also build ships, but they could only build the kind of canoes that carried two or three people, and they had never seen such a large ship at all.

Ah Mao proudly told them that these Song people had bigger boats than this, and the matriarch of the Xikou tribe listened with relish, and when they sailed, the matriarch was still waving goodbye at the water's edge.

It was already dark, and the "Treasure Island" sailed for a while with the help of the glimmer, and it was more dangerous to drive in this unfamiliar waterway, so everyone dropped anchor. They did not dare to get too close to the shore, and anchored at the mouth of a river fork with a gentle current.

Ao Sayang was thinking about Yixue at night and couldn't sleep for a long time, while Ou Da Niu was worried about his safety and didn't sleep calmly. At about a quarter of an hour at night, they felt the hull of the ship shake slightly, and the two of them immediately got up.

Almost as soon as they got up, the people on duty could hear the roar: "Get out!" ”

Then there was a "porphyry" sound, as if someone had fallen into the water, Ou Da Niu had never experienced such a thing, and his face immediately turned pale, but Ao Sayang was not, he had seen more tragic battles in the Red Jacket Army, where would he be afraid of this, and he climbed out of the cabin with a knife.

Their ship was converted into later generations, and it also had a displacement of more than 20 tons, and it was the kind of round-bottomed one, so the deck appeared relatively spacious. When Ao Sayang came out, he saw that his companions had lit torches one after another, and asked what had happened, and the guard pointed to the bank of the river and said, "Look! ”

More than a dozen torches were also lit on the shore, and by the light of the torches, they saw dozens of people shouting and scolding. I don't understand what they're saying, but I don't think it's a good thing.

"One of them swam over and touched our boat, and he was just kicked down by me, and he didn't know whether he was alive or dead." The humanity on duty.

"It's Atayal!" Ah Mao's eyes were sharp, and he saw that those people had tattoos on their faces, and exclaimed, "They want to kill us!" ”

"Lift the anchor, let's get out of here, leave five men in the bow, and if anyone swims in, shoot him with arrows!" Ou Da Niu's face was pale, if he hadn't done emergency training before he was sent, he wouldn't have known what to do at this time.

There were more than 20 people on board, but I don't know how many Atayal people were on the shore, although the night voyage was dangerous, it was better than anchoring here.

After they set sail, the Atayal people on the shore continued to roar and shout, and Ah Mao and the old natives listened for a long time, all of them shouting and scolding. They didn't dare to drive fast, but they just used the water wheel to move forward slowly, and the group of Atayal people chased along the river bank for a long time, until they were blocked by the terrain, and then they left in a huff.

When the sky was bright, the people who had stayed up all night did not dare to slack off, and the "Treasure Island" drove at full speed, because of the smooth wind and water, and with the help of the oars, it only took most of the day, and it rushed back to Tamsui just after lunch.

"It's still so dangerous!" Fang Youcai is not a bold person, since Ou Da Niu listened to it, he couldn't help but stroking his palms and said: "Fortunately, Da Niu, you are fine, if there is something, after returning to Shaoxing, your father will have to smash me with a hammer!" ”

"The coal brought back has to be pulled back with fresh water by car, and now there is only a shortage of iron ore." Ou Da Niu didn't want to mention it, at that time, Ao Sayang and they were all calm and composed, but he was so frightened that his soul did not possess his body, so he was somewhat ashamed.

"Iron ore? The natives sent some stones, and some people said they were iron ore, so you can come with me and take a look. Fang Youcai said to him with a smile.

Note 1: There is no malice here, this originally refers to the honest and honest people of Shandong, the author of Jiangxi, others call me an old cousin and I will not feel despised by others.

Note 2: That is, the location of the Xikou Society in the Thirteen Elements Culture of Taiwan's aborigines.

Note 2: One branch of the Gaoshan tribe.