Chapter Seventy-Eight: Outwitting the Docks

Fan Chengkun estimated that the other party wanted to paralyze himself, and second, he wanted to wait until there was no moon to do it, but he couldn't help but prepare in advance, and once the other party made a move in advance, he would not be passive.

Fan Chengkun was right again, there was no moon that night. It was pitch black all around, and a few small boats quietly rowed on the water; There was also a group of black-clad masked men on the dock, running along the embankment of the pier in the direction of the big ship. It seems that the person who came is still very experienced, the small boat docked the big boat, and the man in black on the shore also arrived at the gangplank connecting the big boat with the shore. When a few of them were able to get to the gangplank, the boat threw ropes at the big boat. There was movement on the big boat, and suddenly there was a flash of fire, and several fireballs were thrown onto the small boat on the dock and in the river. The incident happened suddenly, and before I could react to what was going on, I heard a "release", and a gunshot rang out on the two large ships. Half of the people on the shore and in the boat fell, and then another row of gunshots rang out, and there were not many people on the shore and in the boat. The people on the shore scattered and fled. After a while, they all ran back. It turned out that the brothers who were lying in ambush outside the dock heard the gunshots, so they set up a circle around the periphery as agreed, and slowly closed it to the center. In the end, the people who were surrounded were huddled on the pier in front of the big ship, raising their hands and shouting for mercy. A total of five small boats were also pulled to the shore, and there were still a dozen people left on board, and more than twenty on the shore. At this time, a lot of coolies on the dock came to the dock and surrounded them. Fan Chengkun had a lot of torches lit to illuminate the dock. Ordered all the captives to take off their masks. Fan Chengkun saw that there were people from the two families of King Qin, and briefly interrogated these guys who were afraid of death. It didn't take much effort to recruit it. Fan Chengkun was overjoyed in his heart, leaving some people to watch the boat, and the rest of the people were divided into two parts, escorting the people of the Wang family to the Wang family, and escorting the people of the Qin family to the Qin family. Fan Chengkun escorted people to Qin's house, called the head who led the team to Wang's house, and explained it so carefully in his ear. The two groups of people rushed to each of them.

Fan Chengkun led people to the Qin family. The Qin family had already heard the gunshots on the dock and knew that things were not good, but they didn't expect that things could be so bad. In the past, I shot many times, and I usually succeeded, and these people I raised were either thieves or thieves, and at most they ran back to finish the job. I haven't been ready to be knocked on the door yet. But many people came to see the lanterns and torches. The Qin family was a little scared at this time, and hurriedly asked people to close the door, but Fan Chengkun couldn't open it no matter how much he shouted. Seeing that it was soft, he took out a few **, put them in the shop under the door and twisted them, and hid back. I heard a bang, and the door was blown open. The worst thing was a few family members hiding behind the door, and several of their arms and legs flew into the sky with the broken door panel. Fan Chengkun led the people to rush into the courtyard against the smoke that did not disperse, and when he encountered a slight resistance, it was a shot, because it was a close combat, and the gun was loaded with shotguns. A shot shot at close range can turn a person into a honeycomb in one fell swoop. It didn't take much effort, and the remaining thirty or so people of the Qin family were all kneeling in the middle of the courtyard. When the old man of the Qin family saw that the people sent out by the Qin family to participate in the attack who were escorted back from the dock, knelt on the steps illuminated by the torches, knowing that the matter had been revealed, and the people did not hesitate to kill them. He knew that they had fallen into the net that had been set up by others.

Put the musket on the head of the old man of the Qin family and ask him where the family treasury is. After all, this Qin family master is messing around outside, but he is not afraid at this time. He said, "It's okay to ask for money, but let my family go." "No way, you can't kill him yet. Pulling the housekeeper out again, to a place far away from this group, Fan Chengkun said to him: "I only ask once, if you don't say, I will kill you immediately." Say, where is the vault. "The housekeeper is usually a dog who fights with people and is powerful, and he pees his pants early at this time. "Under the table in the master's study is a cellar, where the vault is." In addition, there are some hidden in the cupboard in the big lady's house. Fan Chengkun ordered everyone to be escorted to the bottom compartment of the warship. Here he began to collect the Qin family's gold and silver treasures, the Qin family's courtyard was too big. It took a lot of effort to barely pile all the good things together. Fan Chengkun ordered to put on the Qin family's cart, load everything into the car, and when the Wang family's affairs were over, they would be pulled away together.

Things on the Wang family's side are not as smooth as the Qin family's side. The leader was the captain of another warship chosen by Fan Chengkun, named Sun Yunshan. The Wang family heard the gunshots on the dock and knew that it was not good, this was a sneak attack, and it was discovered. The old man of the Wang family was still quite clear at this time, and he knew that this gunfire showed that he and the people sent by the Qin family were more than lucky, and they were not even afraid of breaking into the king's warship, let alone the dozens of people. As long as those people don't die, they will die by themselves, and so far, they have to fight, as long as they hold on until dawn, and when the government comes, they will be caught in the government, and there is room for maneuver. After quietly sending off one of his sons and one grandson, the door was closed. All the family members were armed and defended on all sides. The lord of the Wang family asked people to bring a few boxes of silver and copper coins, and told the family that as long as you resist the thieves tonight, these silver and copper coins will be yours. The old man of the Wang family is still a smart person, he knows that he can't keep it, everything in the house belongs to someone else.

In the courtyard of the royal family, torches were lit all around, and the blades were also distributed to everyone. When Sun Yunshan came to the door of the Wang family with people, suddenly the Wang family shot a few arrows, and he was caught off guard, and several people were shot and injured here, and the Wang family prisoners who were held in front were also shot and injured a few people. Fortunately, it was night, and it didn't hurt much. Sun Yunshan commanded a volley of guns to shoot over, and no one showed their heads on the courtyard wall. Again, blow open the door with **. However, Sun Yunshan and others, who rushed into the courtyard, encountered the desperate resistance of the Wang family, and the muskets knocked down a batch, and then rushed up a batch. Since these family members are all armed with blades, how can they get close to the shotguns of muskets. Sun Yunshan could only admire their bravery. In the end, the old man of the Wang family saw that he was unable to return to the sky, so he drew his sword and killed himself. The rest are almost all women, children, and the elderly. It didn't take much effort to find the vault. Sun Yunshan ordered all the valuable things to be loaded into the car. Fan Chengkun, who happened to deal with Qin's family affairs, arrived. Fan Chengkun saw that this side was also ready, and notified them to set off to the kiln together. When everything was settled and the sky was already bright, Fan Chengkun came to the dock to report the case, and said: "Because the Huwei Dart Bureau fought the thieves and sailors in the Fenhe River, the thieves colluded with the two families of Qin and Wang on the dock for revenge, and suddenly attacked the fleet last night for revenge, which was broken by me and led by me, and now dozens of people have been captured, please check." "The person in charge is just a petty official who collects some taxes on the dock, and he has heard gunshots last night, but he didn't dare to come out. Today, Fan Chengkun came to report the case, and he knew in his heart that this was a war between several companies fighting for the dock. But the Huwei Dart Game is really too famous now, and he doesn't dare to offend, so he doesn't know what to do for a while. When Fan Chengkun saw it, he said: "My lord, we are under your leadership to repel the attack of the thieves and soldiers who collude inside and outside, and to keep this Lingshui wharf without losing it, which is also your first achievement." Adults hurry up and report to ask for credit. Then the chief woke up from a dream and said, "Yes, yes, everyone has a credit." You must not let go of the captured thieves. "The person in charge immediately sent someone to hurry up and report to Xiurong Zhizhou.

As soon as Na Zhizhou heard that there was such a big case, he immediately sent someone to investigate. Bring the captured people up and ask, these people know that the lord of their own family asked them to mask their faces to kill. As for whether the master colluded with the thieves, I don't know. The old man of the Wang family is dead, and there is no evidence to check it. But the old man of the Qin family is here, and after someone turned over his methods, he admitted that he had colluded with the thieves to avenge the thieves. As a result, he was rewarded from the head of the dock all the way to Xiurong Zhizhou. The Qin family confiscated all their property, and all of them were escorted to Xiurong pending trial. These people who came from Xiurong originally thought that if these two or two big families were confiscated, there would definitely be a lot of oil and water. As a result, when they arrived, they were disappointed, knowing that they had already been preempted. But there is no evidence, so I will try to pack some valuable things.

In the end, the prince's two families were conscripted, and the men were all enslaved.

Although the yards of the two families are very large, no one wants them in a remote place like the dock. Fan Chengkun used some silver and bought the two courtyards at a very low price.

In this way, the entire Lingshui Wharf was controlled by the Yaogang fleet. Fan Chengkun spent some silver to improve the facilities of the wharf, Zhang Zhimu had mentioned before that the springboard was too narrow, and this time the two springboards were nailed together side by side to make the springboard wider. Workers no longer have to worry about moving goods up and down the gangplank. Fan Chengkun also halved the management fees collected, and the dock workers and shipowners were very satisfied. Now, ships are willing to load and unload cargo here, and there are more ships than before. The tax and silver collected by the chief sent by the government have also been raised, and he has no care about the affairs on the dock. Of course, Fan Chengkun didn't forget it, and often touched him.

Fan Chengkun knew that the navy must often train in the water, and after everything was safe on the dock, Fan Chengkun's two big warships and four small boats also transported goods back and forth several times between Tongguan and Lingshui for the merchants. Now the reputation of the Yaogang fleet is very good, and many merchants will hand over the goods directly to the fleet, tell an address, no one will follow, and everything will be delivered by the fleet.

This time, as soon as I arrived in Tongguan, I received a message from the flying pigeon in the Tongguan store, saying that Zhang Zhimu's caravan was about to arrive. Everyone was overjoyed and waited for a long time. For two days, Fan Chengkun was waiting on the dock. Today I finally waited for Zhang Zhimu's boat.

After listening to Fan Chengkun's introduction, Zhang Zhimu was very pleased. "I'm so happy to hear the introduction," he said. It seems that I chose you to be the commander of this fleet, and I chose the right one. You understand politics, military affairs, and strategy, and now you seem to know how to manage. I think we have laid a good foundation for our next development. With our own wharf, we have a gateway in and out of Shanxi. You can ship goods between Tongguan and Lingshui for merchants now, and you will have to develop in the future. Now we have branches in Xuzhou and Yangzhou. Goods can be shipped back and forth from these places. It can even be bigger in the future. This is also a big business, which is called mail. In the future, it is even possible to separate this business and develop it specially. Of course, this is a later story, this wharf, we have to manage it well, and in the future, we will build a shipyard here, and build the kind of ship that does not need to be bred by the wind or by people, and is driven by a machine, and can go fast against the wind. "A sentence made everyone stupid.

Fan Chengkun didn't expect Zhang Zhimu to have such a high evaluation of him, and he was more confident. In fact, Zhang Zhimu's evaluation of him is also a summary of his performance during this period, and it also points out a direction for his future work. Fan Chengkun admired Zhang Zhimu from his heart at this time, and he saw himself very thoroughly at a glance. I am full of expectations for the prospects depicted by Zhang Zhimu, and everything will come true, what an earth-shattering career it should be.

At this time, Zhang Zhimu said: "There are two other warships on Mu Yi's side, both of which are combined into the Yaogang fleet, and Mu Yi is appointed as the deputy commander of the fleet to cooperate with Fan Chengkun. ”

They both stood up and got to know each other. Hearing Fan Chengkun's introduction, Mu Yi admired Fan Chengkun very much, he knew that he would never be able to do such a thing, and he was okay to fight. Zhang Zhimu said: "The two of you have your own strengths, and Fan Chengkun is steady and strategic. Mu Yi is good at using boats, water battles, and training. During this time, the more than 80 soldiers in Huai'an were trained to look good, and these people will be assigned to you in the future. You must learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses and lead the fleet well. It is important to form a good atmosphere. In the future, our fleet will continue to grow, and from now on, it is very important for you to train talents. In the future, if there is a ship, there must be someone who can do it. The two listened to Zhang Zhimu's words and nodded straight and said yes. Chen Yufeng, who was watching from the side, was very happy in his heart, this Zhimu gradually revealed the spirit of a king. If you are not in a hurry, you can see the key to the matter. No matter what capable person is, after a few rounds in front of Zhang Zhimu, he will honestly obey it, and he will think far in the future.

While waiting for the boat behind in Tongguan, Zhang Zhimu led the high-ranking people invited from the south to take a good tour of Tongguan.

He also led Yang Yulin to meet the Tongguan garrison Ningde. As soon as Ning De heard Zhang Zhimu's request to see him, he directly went out of the door, took Zhang Zhimu's hand and said, "You are terrible now." I heard that the emperor has rewarded you. Now the entire trade route from Tongguan to Hanguguan to Shaanzhou has been completely opened up by you, which is really for the benefit of all people. Zhang Zhimu also turned it politely and said that he would come to see Lord Ning often in the future.

When I returned to the store, I saw a group of merchants from Tongguan, including businessmen from other places, and I heard that Zhang Zhimu was also going to come to see him in Tongguan. In the evening, Zhang Zhimu couldn't refuse, and went to get drunk with everyone again. After coming back, Yang Yulin didn't let anyone touch Zhang Zhimu, and he was completely taken care of by himself. In fact, when he was in Yangzhou, Zhang Zhimu found an opportunity. said to Yang Yulin: "Miss Yang took care of me all the way, and I understood it. I'm also a person with a heart. But Huang Yukun's mother and daughter are my lifesavers, and I have promised Huang Yukun that I will marry her when I go back. So I don't dare to accept too much affection from Miss Yang, and I hope Miss Yang can understand. Yang Yulin is a former ninja with tears, and her mouth is still hard, and she said: "I just want to be with you, I don't ask for anything else, don't be sentimental." Actually, Yang Yulin is very smart and knows that if there are other requirements at this time, there will be no chance to be by Zhang Zhimu's side in the future. Then it's completely out of the way. At this time, he will look in the other direction. Zhang Zhimu's words, it's not that he doesn't like himself, it's just that he has to marry Huang Yukun, which is no way. That's how people often deceive themselves. After that, Yang Yulin still took care of Zhang Zhimu as always.

Finally, two days later, Liu Yun arrived with the last ship. Fan Chengkun's ship was loaded with graphite that had been ordered before, and some other goods were brought with it. This morning, Zhang Zhimu's fleet, Yang Fan, set off. After crossing the Yellow River, we entered the Fen River, and the south wind was strong at this time. The flotilla went all the way north.

Zhang Zhimu and Chen Yufeng in the cabin had a not very easy conversation. Seeing that there was no one else in the cabin, Chen Yufeng said: "Zhimu, I'm about to get home, there are some things I always wanted to ask you, but I didn't ask." But you can't ask if you don't ask. Zhang Zhimu said: "Uncle Chen, what else can't we say?" You ask! In fact, he knew in his heart that Chen Yufeng wanted to ask about Huang Yukun, Yang Yulin and the like, and he deliberately pretended to be stupid.

Chen Yufeng said: "What Miss Yang is like to you, everyone has seen it all the way. What the hell do you want, give me an explanation. Zhang Zhimu said: "I talked to Yang Yulin about this." I only have Huang Yukun in my heart now, and I will marry Huang Yukun when I go back. Chen Yufeng was surprised when he heard it, "Get married when you go back?" Does Huang Yukun agree? Zhang Zhimu said: "The two of us said that we would do it when we went back." Chen Yufeng said: "This is a good thing, I am relieved." In fact, those two children are closer to you than to his own father. I'm just sorry for the Qin family. Zhang Zhimu said: "It should be said that this is worthy of his Qin family." Their Qin family, what happened to Huang Yukun, you don't know. Chen Yufeng sighed and said, "Alas, if you want to say that the young master of Qin, he was also a talented man and a talent. But the Qin family was too used to him. It's not the same with a big cigarette. When the master is there, he can still take care of it, and when the master is gone, he will be finished. until the family is defeated. Once in a gambling house, I lost all my house and property to others. He knew he had done it. So he went to the brothel, and drank wine, and ate the big smoked peaches. When I heard about this way of death, people all died laughing. I just don't know what he said when he saw the master. The young grandmother is also miserable. People take documents and public servants to take over the family property, and they are not allowed to take anything out. The mother-in-law at home didn't want to open it, and she hit her head and died. Fortunately, the funeral was finished. Huang Yukun also sold out all his jewelry. I was expecting my mother's family to help. But the black-hearted Huang family said that Huang Yukun got married, and he didn't care whether he lived or died. If it weren't for looking at Huang Yukun's face. I want to destroy them all. I am in the Huang family, and I live today and no tomorrow, so I go out to drink when I have a little money. There is no money left in his hand, thanks to Huang Yukun's cousin, who grew up together, gave Huang Yukun the jewelry he was wearing on his head, and used the money from the sale of this jewelry to buy a place to live, otherwise the young grandmother would not be able to live. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have lived long. The rest of the grandmothers, mothers and sons, I don't know what it looks like. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Just talk about me, what should you do about your own thing?" ”